Iranian rules you should check

Military service, exit permission, exit tax and passport: what we could and could not confirm.

These are Iranian rules, decided by Iranian authorities. German sources cannot settle them. Most points below are not confirmed by an official source we could read, so they are in italics and listed in the project's TODO file. Check them with Iranian official sources or a lawyer qualified in Iranian law before you plan around them.

Men: military service

Iranian men are generally liable for compulsory military service from around age 18. A man who has not served or been exempted may be refused a passport or an exit permission. The length of service, exemptions, deferrals for students and any payment option were not checked against an official source.

Exit permission, exit tax, passport

• Whether a man in your situation needs an exit permission to leave Iran, whether there is an exit tax, and its current amount: not confirmed.
• Passport validity and renewal conditions, and how long they take: not confirmed.
• Plan for these items before you start the German visa process. A visa does not help if you cannot leave.

If you also hold another citizenship, or travel back

The Federal Foreign Office warns against travel to Iran and names dual nationals as particularly at risk of arbitrary detention; consular help from the German embassy is severely limited (Federal Foreign Office, Iran travel and safety advice). Reports also describe exit bans for dual nationals. Under Iranian law dual nationals are treated only as Iranians, so a German passport may not be enough to leave: we only have secondary sources for this. Read the current official advice before any trip.

After you have left

• Whether Iran recognises a second citizenship, and what happens to Iranian citizenship, military-service status and property if you naturalise in Germany: not confirmed.
• Consular services of the Iranian embassy in Berlin: not checked.