From the ancient ruins of Persepolis to the hustle and bustle of modern Tehran, Iran is a fascinating country that does have a lot to offer an adventurous traveler. However, Americans who want to travel to Iran will run headfirst into a variety of obstacles due to the tense relationship between the American government and the Iranian government.

For example, the US Department of State has issued a travel warning for Iran advising that “American citizens may be subject to harassment or arrest while travelling or residing in Iran.” Due to the less-than-cordial relationship between the two countries, even something as simple as accessing your bank accounts is impossible while in Iranian territory-the State Department’s page on Iran advises that you won’t be able to use your credit or debit cards, and even logging in to check your bank accounts will result in having your account immediately frozen due to the economic sanctions against Iran.

You may also encounter some difficulty in getting an Iran visa. First of all, you must have preauthorization to enter Iran.  In most cases, to get preauthorization you will need to purchase your hotel reservations from licensed Iranian tour operators.

Also, women must have a husband or male relative to accompany them to Iran.

If you do get preauthorization for an Iran visa, you will need to submit the following documents to apply:

• 1 application form
• 1 color photo (females over the age of 9 must have their hair covered for the photo)
• round trip tickets or a copy of your itinerary
• Your authorization number
• A valid passport

Iran does require a visa and American citizens must apply in advance-you won’t be able to purchase one at the airport. The only exception to these rules is if you are visiting the resort island of Kish. Although Kish is technically in Iran, Americans can cross over to Kish from the United Arab Emirates without needing an Iran visa.

Are you unsure what documents are required for your next trip out of the country? RushMyTravelVisa.com can help you figure out what visas are required and help you submit your visa applications for the fastest possible service.  Let us help send you on your way to your next adventure!

Tags: Iran, Iran Visa

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 6th, 2009 at 5:07 pm and is filed under Country-Specific Visas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.