Residence Permits

Applying for and renewing the iqamah that lets you live and study in Iran legally — the documents required, timelines, family permits and the annual renewal.

Residence permits (iqamah) are an essential part of living and studying in Iran legally. They allow you to stay for an extended period and are renewable for the duration of your studies.

Applications

Once your education visa has been issued and you have entered the country, the next step is to apply for a residence permit. The hawzah will assist and guide you through the process, which involves submitting various documents to the Immigration Police:

• Completed application form — typically filled out in Farsi, or in both English and Farsi. The school will help you complete it accurately.
• Original passport.
• Copy of the student visa — keep a printed copy when travelling to Iran and give it to the school when needed.
• Passport-sized photographs — two 3cm × 4cm photos. Numerous photography studios in the city, such as Namdaar Photographers near SIOS, can take and print these within a few hours. Also obtain a digital copy, as the school will eventually need it. Eight printed photos plus a digital copy costs around $2.
• Official letter from the hawzah — confirming your enrolment; the school provides this.
• Proof of health insurance — the school arranges this for you.

Once the documents are collected, the school liaises with the Immigration Police to arrange issuance. As part of the process, a semi-formal interview may be conducted to verify your identity and carry out security assessments. Apart from this interview, it is rare to need to deal directly with the Immigration Police, as the school’s liaison typically handles those interactions.

Permits for family members

Family members — spouse and children — are also eligible for residence permits for the duration of your studies, and their applications can usually be processed alongside yours, though some additional documents are required. A marriage certificate is needed to establish the legal relationship between you and your spouse and hence their eligibility. The original certificate must first be legalised by the Iranian embassy in your home country (this may involve notarisation and fees — refer to the embassy for detailed instructions).

The legalised certificate then needs to be verified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iran and translated into Farsi at an official translation office, before being submitted to the school with the other documents: translations, original passports, passport-sized photographs and visas for all family members. The approval process can take up to three months, during which applicants may need visa extensions.

Residence permits are usually valid for one year and are stamped inside the passport. Nationals of certain countries, predominantly Western, can request that all stamps be placed on an external document instead — easing travel in Europe and North America and conserving valuable passport pages, which can be costly to renew.

Renewal

Residence permits are typically issued for one year and must be renewed annually. To ensure timely renewal, submit the necessary paperwork to your school between two and four weeks before the permit expires. The expiry date is clearly shown on the stamp but in the Persian calendar, so take extra care to work out the corresponding Gregorian date and avoid a late submission that would interrupt your legal status.

Renewal requires an application form, the original passport and a photocopy of the current permit. Make sure these reach the school in good time. Once submitted, updated passports with the new permits are typically returned within two weeks. The fee for issuing and renewing is around $4, normally covered by the school.

Documents at a glance

A quick reference for which documents each application typically requires: