Traveling to Iran after IR-1 / CR-1

[Sara & Mark 2]

Help, I'm looking for some insight.

My girlfriend, soon to be wife, is an Iranian citizen with an Iranian passport.

She has lived in Sweden for the last 22 years, she is also a Swedish citizen with a Swedish passport.

We will be living together in the USA after the IR-1 / CR-1 process is complete.

I'm not familiar with Iranian culture & customs so my questions are as follows.......

Are there any special requirements on our part to visit her family in Tehran as a MARRIED COUPLE after the IR-1 / CR-1 process is complete?

Will we need to be married a second time in an Iranian Embassy or equivalent?

Will she need to retain her own surname?

What affect will her changing her surname to mine have on reentry to Iran?

Thank you in advance for any guidance offered, it is greatly appreciated.

[Sara & Mark 2]

Surly there must be others out there in a similar situation as I am.

American male, Iranian Female, soon to be married and living in the USA, wanting to travel to Iran to visit her family.

Are there any issues with her changing her last name to mine and if so what kind of problems will this cause with entry into Iran?

[Elham 1]

There won't be any trouble. She will enter Iran with her own Persian passport in which her maiden name is written. But if you want to be able to go to Iran together with her, the story changes and definitely she knows about it so good! I'm talking about having you registered in her Persian Identification card. In Iran, a birth certificate some how looks like a passport, I mean it has some pages that each page has a different usage. One of the pages is for registering your spouse name in... if that page is blank, you are still single! I do not have my husband's name registered in my ID card yet, but I suppose we have to contact The Foreign Interests Section of the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington DC, which acts as protecting power for the interest of Iran in the USA to learn about what to do! (Iranians please correct me if I'm wrong)

[Sara & Mark 2]

There won't be any trouble. She will enter Iran with her own Persian passport in which her maiden name is written. But if you want to be able to go to Iran together with her, the story changes and definitely she knows about it so good! I'm talking about having you registered in her Persian Identification card. In Iran, a birth certificate some how looks like a passport, I mean it has some pages that each page has a different usage. One of the pages is for registering your spouse name in... if that page is blank, you are still single! I do not have my husband's name registered in my ID card yet, but I suppose we have to contact The Foreign Interests Section of the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington DC, which acts as protecting power for the interest of Iran in the USA to learn about what to do! (Iranians please correct me if I'm wrong)

Thank you so much for your reply, this helps me to better understand the requirements and process, I'm sure it'll raise other questions and concerns along the way.

[me & mason810 0]

Hello,

I think she can apply for her Iranian passport as a single,if she doesn't have it.Then she can travel without any problem to Iran, and you can apply for Iranian visa as a tourist and then when you went to Iran you can submit your marriage in Iran.so I believe you can travel to see her family even before you get marry.

http://daftar.org/Eng/default.asp?lang=eng

Edited January 29, 2011 by me & mason810

[Elham 1]

Thank you so much for your reply, this helps me to better understand the requirements and process, I'm sure it'll raise other questions and concerns along the way.

feel free to ask me any question!

[Sara & Mark 2]

feel free to ask me any question!

She wants to change her last name to mine when we are married in the USA, how does that work with her current Persian Identification Card? Will there be any conflicts with her last name changing? Her current Persian Identification Card has her listed as single, never married, although she was married for a short period of time 23 years ago.

Edited January 30, 2011 by Sara & Mark

[Elham 1]

She wants to change her last name to mine when we are married in the USA, how does that work with her current Persian Identification Card? Will there be any conflicts with her last name changing? Her current Persian Identification Card has her listed as single, never married, although she was married for a short period of time 23 years ago.

No it has got nothing to do with that! When you two go to register your marriage in Persian way, you will only have your name registered in her Certificate of Birth and her Persian last name will not change in her Persian ID card because in Iran we do not change our name after marriage, so all the documents which are to be used in Iran only, like her Persian passport & ID card will have her Persian name (maiden name) - But here in the US, she changes her last name to your last name and her ID card, driver's license and in the future her American passport will have her new American last name!

So as you see, the documents which are to be used in Iran have her Persian name, and the documents which are to be used only in the USA have her American name... it will make no conflict!

[Sara & Mark 2]

No it has got nothing to do with that! When you two go to register your marriage in Persian way, you will only have your name registered in her Certificate of Birth and her Persian last name will not change in her Persian ID card because in Iran we do not change our name after marriage, so all the documents which are to be used in Iran only, like her Persian passport & ID card will have her Persian name (maiden name) - But here in the US, she changes her last name to your last name and her ID card, driver's license and in the future her American passport will have her new American last name!

So as you see, the documents which are to be used in Iran have her Persian name, and the documents which are to be used only in the USA have her American name... it will make no conflict!

Thank you once again for your reply and reassurance, your knowledge and input is greatly appreciated.