Iranian man lived in Paris airport for 18 years due to a ‘stolen passport’

Mehran Karimi Nasseri made a small area of Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport his home for 18 years.

Mehran Karimi Nasseri lived in the airport’s Terminal 1 from 1988 until 2006, first in legal limbo because he lacked residency papers and later by choice.

Granted refugee status by Belgium in 1981, he tried to travel to Britain to find his real mother, whom he believed resided in Glasgow. He discarded his identification papers onboard an England-bound ship, believing he would no longer require them, and fell into a stateless limbo.

Repeatedly detained upon arrival in the UK after claiming his documents were stolen, he was sent back to Belgium or France. Eventually, he gave up and settled at Charles de Gaulle Airport in August 1988.

At Charles de Gaulle, he reportedly spent most of his time on a red bench on the lower floor of Terminal 1, declining donations and gifts apart from the occasional meal voucher from airport staff.

Mehran passed away in 2022.