TEHRAN - Mobile phone registry will go online for inbound passengers arriving at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport.

“As of 21 December, all mobile phones will be registered online, and the time for the face-to-face process will be reduced to less than one minute,” the deputy director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) has said.  

“The decision is made for the welfare of incoming passengers at Imam Khomeini International Airport, and to prevent the spread of coronavirus,” IKAC News quoted Mehrdad Jamal Arvanaghi as saying on Monday.

All mobile phones which are entered from July 2 to December 20 have been registered in person, but from that time on all passengers have to fill passenger declaration and write the phone’s IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) – A 15 digit number that you can find in the phone’s box, the official explained.

With the implementation of Iran’s National Mobile Registry Plan back in October 2017, people must register all new mobile phones to be eligible for use in the country. This law is to fight smuggling phones to Iran. As a result, all people who want to use their phones for more than one month in the Islamic Republic will need to register their phones as a way to pay the customs fees.

AFM/