Iran Emigration and Immigration

Online Sources

 * 1946-1971 Free Access: Africa, Asia and Europe, Passenger Lists of Displaced Persons, 1946-1971 Ancestry, free. Index and images. Passenger lists of immigrants leaving Germany and other European ports and airports between 1946-1971. The majority of the immigrants listed in this collection are displaced persons - Holocaust survivors, former concentration camp inmates and Nazi forced laborers, as well as refugees from Central and Eastern European countries and some non-European countries.
 * 1878-1960 UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960, at Ancestry.com, index and images. ($)
 * 1890-1960 Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960 at FindMyPast; index & images ($)

British Overseas Subjects

 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms, Iran at FindMyPast, index and images, ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages, Iran at FindMyPast, index and images, ($)
 * British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials at Ancestry, index and images, ($)

Finding the Town of Origin in Iran
If you are using emigration/immigration records to find the name of your ancestors' town in Iran, see Iran Finding Town of Origin for additional research strategies.

Iran Emigration and Immigration
"Emigration" means moving out of a country. "Immigration" means moving into a country. Emigration and immigration sources list the names of people leaving (emigrating) or arriving (immigrating) in the country. These sources may be passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, or records of passports issued. The information in these records may include the emigrants’ names, ages, occupations, destinations, and places of origin or birthplaces. Sometimes they also show family groups.

Emigration From Iran
According to various sources, in 2010, there were an estimated between 2 to 3 million Iranians living abroad, mostly in North America, Europe, Persian Gulf States, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Australia and the broader Middle East. Others estimate a lower number, of around 1.5 million or less. For the most part, they emigrated after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. On 21 of February 2021 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Iran) published new statistics showing that 4,037,258 Iranians are currently living abroad according to their data.