An 84-year-old widow who feared deportation to Iran has won her appeal and been granted residence in New Zealand, after a tribunal ruled that sending her back would be unsafe and inhumane.

Brian from Mount Roskill

According to a report by Gill Bonnett of RNZ, the Immigration and Protection Tribunal noted that her only son, a New Zealand citizen, works in a national security role and would face danger if he attempted to return to Iran with her. His dual citizenship and professional ties to Western security projects could see him detained on arrival, the decision said.
The tribunal highlighted that deporting the woman would mean permanent separation from her son and force her into “a chaotic and unpredictable environment,” made worse by escalating conflict in the Middle East. At her age, without family support in Tehran, the risks to her survival were deemed “unmanageable” and potentially “fatal,” Gill Bonnett of RNZ reported.
The woman, a retired nurse, had previously travelled to New Zealand before the pandemic and again in recent years. On her last visit, however, she suffered a severe panic attack before boarding a flight back to Iran. A GP confirmed her extreme fear and anxiety about returning.
Her son, a software engineer, told the tribunal it would be impossible for him to live in Iran, given his clearance for restricted documents in New Zealand and affiliation with Western security projects. Such factors, the tribunal agreed, could be perceived by Iranian authorities as treason.
New Zealand’s official travel advisory currently warns against all travel to Iran, citing risks of civil unrest, arbitrary arrest, and detention, RNZ reported.
When the widow’s visitor visa renewal was declined, she became an overstayer. But the tribunal accepted her case on humanitarian grounds, concluding that deportation would be “unjust or unduly harsh,” RNZ reported.
“The country’s current volatile geopolitical situation makes it wholly unrealistic for the appellant to return,” the decision said, adding that her fragile emotional state and lack of social support would leave her unable to cope if sent back, as quoted by RNZ.
The ruling now secures her future in New Zealand, allowing her to remain with her son after years of uncertainty.
==================================================