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As of 04 April 2018
Just a quick case from Tehran... A friend of mine (girl, passport of Ireland) was requesting her 2nd extension (the 1st one had been done in Esfahan), she talked with them, got approved for the 30 days, did the paperwork, paid the standard price (around 35k Toman) and was told to come back for passport the next day. On the next day though, she went to collect the passport and, quote, "the guy was like sorry but the security people think you've had enough time and only gave me 2 extra days so I have to leave iran on the 10th April ".
In other words, despite verbal approval and all procedure, they did something different from what they agreed upon. At collection, she already had a stamp called "EXIT VISA" in her passport (next to the 1st extension) only extending her from 8 April to 10 April. Meaning she couldn't go to another city office and try anything else; all her timeline plans for Central Asia were broken, and she had to catch a last-minute flight to Georgia.
The only point I can make here, try to insist to get your passport same day without leaving the office, to avoid them changing their mind... (?)
Another Tehran case. Applied 30days, Only got 21days. No reason. Guess Tehran is the worst place to extend.
There was no one speaking English. The boss on the first floor was already angry when I got there. Was very busy. I waited on the queue five times. First to get the form. He really didn’t pay attention to me. Threw me the from without explanation. So as I read here I went to the downstairs and copied my passport (it was 600toman) and filled up the form in English and on the queue again. Then he wanted me to write in Farsi too on the right. So I tried with asking other people. When I brought the form again. He didn’t even have a look and told me to pay downstairs. Extension fee was 37000toman. Then I got the red file. On the queue again and he was like “why are you coming here? Go to window 5.” Obviously he could have explained before I pay. So waited on another queue. Then told to go to window 6, so another queue. Then come back to window 5 then told to come back tomorrow. As I read here, I asked them I need passport today many times but, didn’t work and there was piles of passports next to her. Today, on the passport was 21days. I thought they confused with the Persian calendar. And I asked is it exit visa or not and then she said yes so after 21days go back to your country and no explanation. So I went to the boss man again then I spoke English to him someone translated the reason only reason is he thought 21days are enough for travel. Fortunately it wasn’t exit visa so I couldn’t complain.
Very similar experience with previous post. French couple requesting 30 days extension, applied only about 10 days after entering, got 21 days extension.
An Iranian person helped us (he was already helping a Chinese person before us), he caught us in the "boss queue" and brought us the forms. He apparently got them from another place, maybe downstairs. I think it is worth asking downstairs to the guards about the form, because the queue to the boss is very long and this proves that he is not the only person to give out those forms.
Queue to the boss, we had prepared some letters etc but he didn't even give a look to the filled forms. It was very busy and he didn't seem to care at all about tourists, this place is mainly full of iranian citizens.
Don't go to the bank to pay, the woman downstairs can take your money and give you the pay slip (she's on your way when you got in if you are a man, otherwise find her next to the copy station, she handles money all the time so she is easy to spot.). She also gives you the coveted pink folder, actually I think she stapled the pay slips on each folder.
Go back on first floor and queue at both 5. No one from the office will tell you to do so, but hey, you read it here. Give your passport and pink folder with the form and required documents. She will order the papers within the folder and stamp the pay slip with a big red "cancelled" stamp. (Don't worry, it's not cancelled, just used. I guess it should say "void" instead).
Queue at booth 6. She will type your passport number in a computer and add stickers to your passport cover and to the pink folder. Optionally she may answer a personal call for a few minutes.
Queue at booth 5 while thinking of all the obvious improvements this whole process could benefit from. Don't stray though, as others could try to queue from unconventional directions to pass you. Give the pink folder and passport again. The woman will, hmm, do nothing more but put them on a pile next to her. Notably this pile is also next to the woman from booth 6. Don't think too much about this last fact.
You will be told to come back the next day. No arguing could get us the passport the same day. We asked if it would be ready in the morning, were told that yes, and it was as we recovered our passports the next day at opening time.
Application took 1h 45min, withdrawal next morning 10min.
2 guys with Spanish passports, single-entry visa (30 days), applied for 1st visa extension 3 days before expiry date and got 30 days, pick-up later the same day.
Pick-up the form at the boss queue, enlist some nice local (or Afghan) to fill it up in Farsi (both copies) and head back to the boss. He or someone else there will look at it, plus copy of passport and of Iranian visa, scribble something on the form and send you downstairs to pay. The lady is sitting at a table in the copy machine room. Pay 370k Rial and she'll give you a slip and the pink folder.
Go up to window 5, the lady there will do something and send you to window 6. There, someone will do something else and send you back to 5, where they keep the passport. We had snooped around and pick-up time seemed to be 4 days, so we asked an English-speaking Afghan girl to come with us to window 5 and tell the lady we needed the passports that afternoon (for the Chinese Visa, though we didn't tell them that). After a couple of minutes the window lady finally relented and told us pick-up at 1pm the same day (2 hours later).
A couple of tips:
We left our fully-loaded bikes with the armed guards downstairs and found them untouched 2 hours later.
A lot of old ladies will try to jump the boss queue. Telling them gently but firmly (even in English) to get lost while pointing at the queue works, and the rest of the queue will join in once they see you won't be pushed around.
The people sitting in front of the windows are more likely to help you out with the form than the ones standing in a queue. There are a lot of Afghan people there and some of them speak English. If you find someone that speaks English and is willing to help you, don't hesitate to take him/her with you to a window if you need to make a point (about pick-up for example).
At times there's a long queue for the copies downstairs, you'll probably wanna bring your own.
The boss arrives at 9am and by 9:05am he's already angry, we managed to catch the attention of one officer there and didn't have to deal with him.
We extend our visa in tehran in the police departement for migration and passports, not far from the beheshti.
We arrived there at 8:30 am and it was already very crowded. After the security check we were sent to chief office in the 1st floor. There we got the documents to fill out. After filling out the extention documents we had to copy ID page of passport and the iran visa in the ground floor. Making one copy costs 10 000 IRR. 2 passport images are nessecary aswell. Its possible to make them in the office, but i dont know about the price. We brought some images.
Paying the fee for extention was 370 000 IRR and it was possible to pay directly in the office - going to melli bank was not necessary.
With all documents we had to go back to 1st floor and give the documents + passport to counter 5.
After waiting arround 45 min we got our passports with the 30 days extention in the waiting room at counter 7.
At all we needed around 2 hours for the whole process and we had no problems during the procedure, no question were asked to us.
In between it was a bit confusing what to do next, because the office seems to be chaotic but if you know about the structure, it should be easy going. And people know how to help and were to send you next.
So after our experience we can recommend to extend visa in tehran aswell.
When we arrived our old visa was still valid for one day.
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Bad experience in Tehran last week. Looking back, I set myself up for failure, but it was all a bit bizarre nonetheless.
I went in with seven days left on my visa, taking an Iranian girl with me to help translate. Went in and got the photocopies and application folder right beside the men's entrance, then went upstairs to the senior officer's office. I'd read about his mood swings on the forum and it looked like I'd caught him on a bad day. There were two Afghans, whose visas were expiring the next day (i.e. it was the last day on their visa and without extension, they'd have to leave the same day) in front of me, pleading for an extension. The officer didn't care and told them it was their problem how they made it out across the border on time.
He then turned his attention to me and then the girl, interrogating her about how we knew each other, our relationship, if I was staying at hers etc. I was asked which cities I'd visited and while I was telling him, he agreed with his colleague that I was lying and had a week to leave the country.
The story then changed and I was not going to get an extension because extensions cannot be granted to Irish passport holders. When asked when that law was introduced he just said "recently". Probably as recently as ten seconds beforehand, but seeing no point in arguing, I left.
Thankfully, my application wasn't even accepted, so I had no rejection stamp and was free to try again. By the grace of god, word of this new law hadn't reached Isfahan, where I extended without any problems a few days later (when I went in by myself).
Lesson learned, I wouldn't bring an Iranian in with me again, particularly not of the opposite sex. That invited a lot of unwanted scrutiny and was a big factor in his behaviour towards me, I think.
If you can get your extension somewhere else, that's what I'd do. If you have to go to Tehran, make sure you have a back up plan, in case the boss got out of the wrong side of bed that morning.
Bad experience in Tehran. We went to the Central Police Department (the one near Shahid Mofatteh metro station): it was really crowded but we were able to get to the office on the first floor (the one with the no entry sign on it, in front on the right when you enter the room), we had 2 weeks left on our first extension (which we got easily in Esfahan) and the lady told us "no extension". We insisted, explaining the we needed more time to get other visas and exit the country, she kept saying "no extension" and something that didn't make sense at all to us "you come back after it expires and then you can get the extension" (!??)
A Swiss guy we met there suggested us to go the Migration police department (the one near Meydan-e Jahad metro): less people and much nicer, there is also a very helpful guy who speaks good English at the desk where you pick up forms and folders.
We applied there for the extensions, they told us to come back the day after, we insisted for the same day so they agreed we come back at 12; but then we waited about 40 minutes before they told us to come back the day after, because "they were waiting for answers".
So we did, we were there around 9:15 and we waited till 10:45 to get our visa extensions, but we got just one week like "you have enough time to exit the country". We are still waiting for our Turkmeni visa but we should be able to exit Iran without overstaying...
So we can confirm Tehran is not the best place to get an extension, especially if it's your second one.
Today, July 14, we just extended our visa in one day. Short facts: One woman with taiwanese passport, one man with german passport. E-Visa, extended once in Rasht before. We went there almost one week before expiration (Expiration date would have been July 20.) After a lot of begging we got our passports back the same day, with a 30 days extension. We mentioned we are cycling and need more time for visa application.
So we went to the office in Motahari Street/Koohe Noor. We arrived really early, before they even opened (Which is 7:30). There was already a little line in front, maybe 10 people. Just when we locked our bikes they opened and let us in. We had to go to the first floor and got sent to the little office on the right. After two Afghanis, it was our turn, we got the papers and had to fill them in. Then Counter 5. Counter 5 told us to pay downstairs. Downstairs they wouldn't let us pay, instead the lady made copys of our old extension and gave us pink folders to put our documents inside. First she told us it cost 5 each, but when i got the money out she refused to take it (Maybe it was Tarov, but whatever) Anyway when we told her again we want to pay she sent us upstairs to "Miss Nowruzi (or the like, can't remember)".
Miss Nowruzi was at counter 1 and when we gave her our documents, she said we didn't pay yet. We explained it and she asked for our card. (Her english was pretty good, so i guess that's why the other lady sent us to her)I was pretty sure there was not enough on my card anymore, but we tried it anyway. It was enough for one of us, for the other we gave her cash and she "forced" one of the bystanders to use his card for us. So if you have the card, it is easier for sure, but if not, it's best to have the cash fitting, and not only 500 000 bills. Price was, 345 000 Rial i believe. After that we proceeded to counter 5 again. Had to wait for a while, and then they told us to come back tomorrow. We wanted to apply the indian visa tomorrow, so we begged a couple of times to do it today, till she gave in and said we can come back at 1 PM...
Then we had breakfast and at 1 PM we came back.
I went to counter 5, i believe it was the same lady who told me to come back at 1PM. She told me the bad news: It's not finished, i can come back tomorrow. Again i begged, again she told me she is sorry, but... I begged a few times, when she finally gave in. She told me to sit down and wait. I waited... And waited... After half an hour, more and more of the workers went to lunchbreak, the room got more and more empty. Also the lady at counter 5 made moves to leave. I asked her and she said, just wait, her colleague will bring them later. "Will it take long?", "Maybe...", Ooph, so it was already an hour i was waiting there and slowly there was only one family besides me waiting for something. The lady who told me to wait suddenly started to tell me about her son who wants to go to Germany to study, but her english was not enough, she seemed to want me to help her, but also couldn't tell me what exactly she wants. Anyway it was a bit bizarre.
But she gave up, and i fell asleep in the waiting room. After maybe half and hour the family got their passports and i was the only one left, together with three officers. They were all the time discussing our application, i overheard them saying our adress, and "bicycle" (docharkhe), but always when i started to worry they were laughing at each other. After two hours waiting, at 3 PM, the officer from the beginning asked me in his office and finally handed us our extensions with a smile. In the end he took my helmet and put it on his head, he immitated cycling movements and found it very funny. So kind of relaxed atmosphere actually.
I guess we catched a good day, but i figured, maybe people who had a bad experience tend to rather write reports, so i just wanteed to let everyone know, that it's definitely possible to have a good experience extending in Tehran. Well, okay experience, in Rasht it just took 1 hour and we didn't have to beg many times to get it rright away. Anyway, Good Luck!
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Two musicians travelling from Germany to Taiwan by Bicycle and Hitchbiking:
Good experience in Tehran. We were a bit scared because travelers told us to extend the visa in yazd or other places.
Went last wednesday, with 10 days left on the first visa. Arrived at 9am, full of people but a small queue for getting the paper to fill. They asked for 1 copy of passport, visa, and 2 photos with hiyab(you can take pic in the ground floor and make copies), we filled the form, we put a random address from a hostel that we didnt stay in. First officer was in a really bad mood but he was just taking the papers, then moved on to a smiley officer that told us that we have extension for 15 days starting after our former visa ended (we asked for 30 in the paper but we were ok with 10 so didnt ask about this).
We asked to have this on the same day and they told us to go back after 1hour.
After 1.30 hs we went back and one was not ready but they just did it in the moment
We payed 34.000toman each, 2 000 for the folder, 20 000 for the pic. The extension payment was in the same room but with card, one officer ask a guy to pay for us and we gave him the money
At 1pm we were already with our passports and extensions.
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