1

The more established exchange offices in Tehran will change Australian dollars into Rials. In fact, many list as many as 20 different currencies that they will handle.

2

There are 2 exchange offices on Ferdosi St., in Tehran, about a block north of the National Jewels Museum. They exchanged Canadian so I assume they will exchange Aussie as well. Their quote boards listed about 20 currencies.

3

Changing $A is no problem. But I have to reply to this fee for VOA part - I am an NZ and Aus citizen, checked the websites before I went on 17 August, they both said 50 euros for NZ or Aus, they both still do. I got to the visa desk at Imam Khomeini Airport on 2 Sep and the guy said 100 euros for NZ, I showed him the printout of the NZ Iranian embassy website where it said 50 euros, got annoyed with him, explained in Persian that this was the NZ Iranian embassy website ... but it was still 100 euros. I only HAD 50 euros. There's a Bank Melli desk about 10 feet away, I gave them 500 UAE dirhams and they gave me 100,000 rials change. If I hadn't had enough cash I guess I would have had to call an Iranian friend to come and pay for me. There were just a few Indians and Chinese waiting there with me - the Indians had to get the VOA because they couldn't get other kinds of visa due to the NAM meeting a few days before.

Contrary to other reports here, I flew with Emirates and I didn't have to explain to anyone that NZ passports are ok for VOA in Iran, or show them I had any money or a visa already in my passport. I had checked by phone from Australia it was ok. Just before that I was going to Brazil and showed the Emirates departure gate people my AU passport and they had a list they checked so they could see AU passports don't get a VOA in Brazil but NZ passports do.

At IKA the guy had a big list and said it was 80 euros for AU, but I was a bit apprehensive about using my AU passport as I have a Jordanian stamp from where I entered Aqaba from Israel - even though it doesn't say "you entered from a land border with Israel" and doesn't seem to mention Aqaba in Arabic, better safe than sorry I guess. So both the embassy pages at http://www.iranembassy.org.au/english_AU/council/airportvisa.aspx and http://iranembassy.org.nz/new/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81%3Aairport-visa&catid=28%3Avisa&Itemid=75&lang=en are wrong. He said they are six months out of date.

Other stuff - there's a fixed fee of 350,000 rials for the airport taxi to anywhere in Tehran. So cheap. Everything is so cheap.

The internet is heavily and randomly censored, like some websites will work and others won't (for example smh.com.au blocked, m.smh.com.au not blocked; facebook, youtube, twitter all blocked; google.com.au blocked, google.com not blocked; amazon.co.uk blocked, amazon.com not blocked; livestrong.com and columbia.edu blocked). But everyone, even the government, knows it's just a complete joke and freegate or tor punches right through it with no problems.

As for the other people here who are worried it might not be safe for UK or Canadian citizens, I'd say it's fine. Nobody cares about that! Although, I don't know what the travel insurance implications are exactly.

4

Hey op,

I'd check again to see if you can get a VOA on your Irish passport. It wasn't possible a few months ago.

5

Hey guys thanks for all the information....and basically I got the voa last time I was there on my Irish passport for 50 euros but I bet its gone up again ...and they can charge what they like and I asked my friend there and he called the airport they had no idea and he called the foreign office and they said yes to Irish and Australian for voa ..but no price ... and I use my Australian to enter USA so dont want to mix the two thanks again and happy travels