Do Germany passport holders need a visa to visit IR?

German passport holders need a visa for Iran. The standard route is the official online eVisa: apply at evisa.mfa.ir before travel, receive a Visa Authorization (Grant) Code, then collect the visa sticker at an Iranian consulate or, where eligible, at the airport on arrival. A serious German government travel warning is in effect (April 2026), advising against all travel to Iran. Iran is not visa-free for German (DE) ordinary passport holders and is not in the Schengen area, so the Schengen 90/180 and ETIAS rules do not apply. Germans must hold a valid visa to enter. The most practical channel for an independent short tourist visit is Iran's electronic visa (eVisa) administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at evisa.mfa.ir: the traveler completes the online application, the request is referred to the MFA in Tehran for authorization, and once approved a Grant Notice / Visa Authorization Code is issued. The visa is then stamped at an Iranian embassy/consulate or, for eligible applicants, picked up as a visa-on-arrival sticker at major international airports (Tehran IKA and others). The German Federal Foreign Office (Auswaertiges Amt) explicitly states a visa is required before travel and strongly discourages relying on visa-on-arrival, so the pre-arranged eVisa/authorization-code route is the recommended path. The tourist visa typically allows a single entry, a stay of up to 30 days (extendable inside Iran), and is valid roughly 3 months from issue. Passports must have at least 6 months validity and two blank pages. Crucially, as of 2026 a comprehensive travel warning is in force: following the 2025-2026 regional conflict and an April 2026 ceasefire, the Auswaertiges Amt advises against all travel to Iran, urges German nationals to leave, and notes the German Embassy in Tehran has temporarily relocated staff and cannot guarantee consular assistance. EU sanctions also restrict several Iranian airlines, limiting direct flight options. Dual German-Iranian nationals face heightened risk and must enter on their Iranian passport, losing German consular protection. Travelers should treat the eVisa as administratively available but reconsider travel given the security advisory.