Having a British mother, he decided in 1986 to settle in the UK, but en route there in 1988, his papers were lost when his briefcase was allegedly stolen. (Others indicate that Nasseri actually mailed his documents to Brussels while onboard a ferry to Britain, lying about them being stolen.) Despite this setback, he boarded the plane for London but was promptly returned to France when he failed to present a passport to British immigration officials.
In 2006, Nasseri was hospitalized and eventually left Charles de Gaulle, spending time in shelters and later living quietly in a nursing home in Paris. But in a haunting full circle, he reportedly returned to the airport in the weeks before his death, living there once again by choice. Airport staff said he was often seen sitting calmly in Terminal 2F, surrounded by his belongings, as if revisiting the only place where he had ever truly belonged.
