Nasseri alleged that he was expelled from homelnd in 1977 for protests against the Shah and after a long battle, involving applications in several countries, was awarded refugee status by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Belgium. This allegedly permitted residence in many other European countries. However, this claim was disputed, with investigations showing that Nasseri was never expelled from homeland.
In 2004, Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal, starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones, brought a fictionalized version of Nasseri’s life to the big screen. Though the film took creative liberties, it drew global attention to his strange existence. Nasseri was paid for the rights to his story and briefly became a celebrity. Yet despite being offered a residence permit in France and later a passport, he chose to remain at the airport. “Leaving would make me lost again,” he said at the time.
