New Zealand / Refugees And Migrants

Iranian refugee wants to settle in NZ

16:38 pm on 10 January 2016

An Iranian refugee being held on Nauru is keeping up his campaign to be allowed to settle in New Zealand.

Photo: RNZ

Mehdi Nasiri - who's been on the island for two and a half years - has sent a hand-written letter to the government asking to be accepted.

Mr Nasiri and his wife have spent 30 months on Nauru, and have official refugee status and travel documents but nowhere to go.

He cites a deal that was cut between Wellington and Canberra for some Australian-bound asylum seekers to be sent to New Zealand.

However, that agreement was scrapped in October 2013, when Tony Abbott was the Australian Prime Minister.

Under that original plan, drawn up by Mr Abbott's predecessor, Julia Gillard, New Zealand was to take 150 boat refugees each year from 2014.