Required by all except nationals of Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey (for a stay not exceeding 3 months). Requirements are subject to change at short notice, and you are advised to contact the appropriate Embassy or Consular Section.

Visas can be extended for up to three months.

A 2 week visa is available on arrival at the following airports for US$50.
IKA : Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport
THR : Tehran Mehrabad Airport
MHD : Mashad Airport
SYZ : Shiraz Airport
TBZ : Tabriz Airport
ISF : Isfahan Airport

The visa is only good for visitors from the following countries;
Albania, Armenia, Austria, Australia, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore , Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland , Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam..

If you are crossing overland you will need to arrange a visa in advance. Visas for Iran can take many weeks to get approved and it can be a very frustrating experience.

It is quicker and easier to apply for a transit visa that is valid for ten days. The transit visa can be easily extended once you are in Iran.

Some information for the visa on arrival

Iranian embassies

If you look around on the internet you will find services which will arrange a visa for you. You can do this yourself simply by filling out a form and faxing it to an embassy.