Parisa’s family is at risk of deportation due to their lack of legal documentation.
One family’s struggle for legal status in Iran
Parisa* is a nine-year-old Afghan refugee girl living in Iran with her parents and her three-year-old brother. Born in Tehran, a city of hopes and struggles for many Afghan refugees, she has spent her entire life in Iran.
Her father lost his job because he didn’t have the required legal status. Her mother manages the household. Parisa herself has a deep passion for acting and has even had the opportunity to perform in several Iranian films and TV series.
Because of this, her mother has a profound fear. “I am afraid for my daughter,” she says. “If we are forced to return to Afghanistan, I worry that Parisa will face hardship because of her acting career in Iran.”
Challenges related to gender remain a serious concern for Afghan girls, creating fears and obstacles that make it difficult for them to safely return to their country.
Parisa’s family is at risk of deportation due to their lack of legal documentation. Because of their prolonged displacement and the distance from their home country, they have been unable to renew their Afghan passports that are the only renewable legal documents they’ve ever had.
Parisa’s mother explains that they have tried everything to obtain the new passports that would allow them to remain in Iran. But the greatest barrier is financial: the issuance fees are simply beyond their reach.
However, help was at hand. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) supported Parisa's family with counselling and cash assistance so they could secure the documentation they needed. With the support of the European Union Humanitarian Aid, the family received the equivalent of 300 euros to continue the process of obtaining new passports. They were also provided with guidance on how to obtain an Iranian visa.
NRC is seeking to extend its access and support to other families facing similar risks due to financial constraints and lack of timely and accurate information. Many Afghan families living in Iran are facing the same struggle. Financial obstacles prevent them from renewing essential identification and residency documents, leaving them vulnerable to deportation, further displacement, and insecurity.
Parisa’s family is just one of many Afghan families stuck in limbo, fighting to stay safe, while striving to keep their dreams alive.
NRC in Iran
Since 2012, NRC has been assisting displaced Afghans as well as host communities in Iran. We work to protect and improve access to basic humanitarian services across ten provinces: Alborz, Tehran, Yazd, Hormozgan, Semnan, Kerman, Qom, Razavi Khorasan, Markazi, and Sistan and Baluchestan.
Since mid-2021, NRC has significantly scaled up its work in Iran to respond to the recent developments in Afghanistan, while maintaining all existing programmes.
*Names have been changed to respect the individuals’ wish for anonymity.
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