Iranian New Zealanders ( fa, نیوزیلندی‌های ایرانی), informally known as Persian Kiwis, are

New Zealander New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

s of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian national background or

descent Descent may refer to: As a noun Genealogy and inheritance * Common descent, concept in evolutionary biology * Kinship, one of the major concepts of cultural anthropology **Pedigree chart or family tree ** Ancestry ** Lineal descendant **Heritag ...

who are expatriates or permanent immigrants, and their descendants. The 2006 census found that 2,895

New Zealanders New Zealanders ( mi, Tāngata Aotearoa), colloquially known as Kiwis (), are people associated with New Zealand, sharing a common history, culture, and language (New Zealand English). People of various ethnicities and national origins are citiz ...

were born in Iran, although the figure of Iranian New Zealanders will be higher than this as many of them are born in another country.

Migration history

Most Iranian New Zealanders came to New Zealand after the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

of 1979. The community expanded in the early 1980s and 1990s during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations S ...

and its aftermath. However most Iranian emigrants since 2010 are professionals who revived their residence permit through emigration programs.

Demography

Around half of Iranians in New Zealand are Muslim, but those of Christian background are also present. Among Iranian migrants there are also Baháʼís who had been persecuted for their religion in Iran. From 1987 to 1989, 142 Baháʼís arrived in New Zealand as refugees

Notable people

* Rasoul Amani, New Zealand wrestler who represented New Zealand in Graeco-Roman wrestling at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

*Nazanin "Naz" Khanjani, a contestant in Season 2 of

The Bachelor NZ ''The Bachelor New Zealand'' is a dating game show based on the original US version, '' The Bachelor''. It aired on Sunday and Monday nights on Three. The first season's bachelor was Art Green and the show was won by Matilda Rice. The second seas ...

(aired on TV3), a reality dating show. She was born in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

(the capital of Iran), and moved to New Zealand at the age of 4. *

Golriz Ghahraman Golriz Ghahraman ( fa, گلریز قهرمان; born 1981) is an Iranian-born New Zealand politician, member of Parliament, and author. The former United Nations lawyer was a child asylum seeker, and became the first refugee elected to New Zea ...

, New Zealand politician, member of the

Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand ( mi, Rōpū Kākāriki o Aotearoa, Niu Tireni), commonly known as the Greens, is a green and left-wing political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four organisational ...

, elected in 2017 member of parliament in the House of representatives in the 52nd New Zealand Parliament.

Migration history

Demography

Notable people

See also