Iranian Visa

I finally have in my hand, the elusive Iranian visa. In hindsight I would do it differently. The visa process for Iran can either be quite simple or quite hard. The methods to get one are:

1. VoA: Visa on Arrival. This is open to Australians and most countries except Americans because they're all spies who want to tap into phone records and steal your brain cells. You book your hotel, book your ticket, rock-up to a main Iranian airport and apply for a visa which will be issued for 14 days. It can be renewed on the 13th/14th day for another 14. Generally there should be no problem going about it this way as long as you don't stir any suspicions. There are rumours (at most) that some people have been flatly denied without reason, so most books/articles recommend you apply for a visa in advance through an embassy.
2. Embassy visa. Fill in forms, apply through your local embassy. This can take 2 weeks in best cases and 6 weeks sometimes. It's generally quite reliable, just slow. If you choose this route definitely use a Platinum mail service or document courier. You don't want your passport lost and falling into the hands of terrorists or aliens etc.
3. The third and most commonly recommended way is to apply for a visa "code" which is basically pre-approval by the Iranian government to say they will issue you with a visa. You apply through an Iranian tour agency who applies to the government on your behalf. You are then issued with the code (a 6 digit number) which you take to your nearest embassy and can have your visa issued on the spot, same day, or within a few days depending on what mood the guy at the counter is in. Doing it via this third method is meant to be the easiest but can cost more, as you pay the tour agency and then the embassy.
   Fees for the former range from $40-$100AU depending whether you want a standard 10 day service or a 5 day express service. Fees for the latter (embassy) also range widely, I paid 5880 rupees ($102AU) but didn't have to take a medical test which has been rumoured to be a requirement at the Delhi embassy. I chose to go with Iranianvisa.com which was so slow and incompetent it was like using a banana to open a can of beans. My 5 day service became a 9 day service, they take 3 days to reply to emails (pigeons fly quicker), and then they sent me either a bogus or invalid reference number. Then when I abused the shit outta them (in the most diplomatic fashion) they got defensive and said the 5 day service is not guaranteed. Whatever, you aren't getting any Christmas cards from me (they probably wouldn't want one anyway considering Iran is an Islamic country...).

 

It's funny that when I tell Australians I'm going to Iran, 99.76% of the responses are along the lines of "you're going to die, get murdered, imprisoned for life, it's unsafe, are you nuts" but when I tell Indians, they all say "oh that's such a beautiful country". I reserve my opinion for now but it seems us Aussies have a distorted view on what the Iranian people are like. I mean their government definitely does some things which I and Iranians don't agree with, and Iranians are quite conscious of how they are perceived. They don't want to be measured by the actions of their government. Can you imagine if the world judged Australians by the actions of our government? Hell you just have to watch Question Time in Parliament to see what a bloody circus it is. I don't want to get too political, but a lot of our policies are backwards and we aren't really spoilt for choice this coming election. I'm pretty embarrassed by the way the Labour Party has fallen to bits over the past few years... anyway, too political.

 

My point is that there is more to a country than what you read in the paper. It's a shame that many of us are informed purely by headlines. And that is the whole reason why in a few hours I will board a plane to Shiraz, Iran. I want to see for myself why the Australian Government has classified Iran as "Reconsider Your Need to Travel". Many accounts of previous travellers to Iran (see Ben Groundwater from SMH, tripadvisor and lonely planet forums) have generally concluded that it is one of the safest or most hospitable countries they have been to. In my own experience on couchsurfing.com, many Iranians are extremely welcoming and open to hosting or meeting me to show me around, seemingly more welcoming than Sydney siders are to complete strangers.

 

Well that's the general consensus anyway and anything can still happen for better or worse. I will find out in a few days what the real Iran is like, and I'll report back here. Unfortunately i'll have to dig a digital tunnel via a VPN and Great-Escape my way onto the internet as many social media sites are blocked. I know that sounds very oppressive, but a lot of Aussie (and other) pollies want to block legal consensual pornography, which I see as no different to blocking Facebook anyway. WE MIGHT AS WELL BURN BOOKS!!!

 

That is all. PS the Iranian Visa looks quite nice.