Rising Migration from Iran; Unprecedented Return to Translation Offices

The demand for migration from Iran has increased significantly over the past two years. Translation offices report that it has multiplied several times over. Official statistics from the Islamic Republic also indicate that Iranian migration has increased 2.2 times over the past thirty years.

The increase in the number of requests to leave Iran among the people of this country is not a phenomenon that would surprise anyone. A trend that has been continuously ongoing for years. However, now there is talk of a significant increase in the demand to leave Iran.

In this regard, the “KhabarOnline” website has published a report that, in addition to official statistics and information from Islamic Republic officials about migration, also includes assessments and statements from translation offices.

Given the fact that migration applicants visit translation offices to have their documents translated, the information from the owners of these offices can be useful for understanding the migration process.

Flight of Human Capital

The aforementioned website begins its report with this sentence: “Migration from Iran over the past two years has shown an upward trend, which is generally due to the country’s economic and social problems and the attractions of destination countries.”

Overall, this report contains no specific reference to economic and social problems. One or two translation office owners and students whom the “KhabarOnline” reporter spoke with also mentioned political problems. However, no one elaborates on these problems or specifically names them.

One of these individuals is a student named “Saeed.” He has withdrawn from studies at Iranian universities and wishes to go to Italy for education.

Saeed says: “I feel that there are no conditions for me to live here. It seems to me that there are many political and social problems that cause people like me with different ideas to intend to migrate.”

This student has even emphasized that even if he had sufficient financial means and did not suffer from economic problems, he would not reconsider his decision to migrate.

A person named Hosseini, who is the manager of Shakeeba Translation Office, identifies a common factor in Iranians who want to migrate abroad.

Hosseini says: “The common factor among all those who want to migrate is hopelessness. My 15 years of experience shows that they are hopeless about the country’s situation.”

The KhabarOnline reporter continues in his report by writing that migration generally occurs due to “push factors” in the country of origin and “pull conditions” in destination countries.

He considers most migrants to be the intellectual and educated class and refers to their departure as the loss of human capital, considering its effects destructive for Iran.

Migration Statistics

Bahram Salwati is the head of the “Iran Migration Observatory.” He told the “KhabarOnline” reporter:

“Over the past two or three years, due to the economic conditions that have arisen, especially the issue of sanctions, the desire to migrate has increased, and alongside this, external pull and attraction factors strengthen it. In fact, the combination of these two matters has caused the migration process to increase.”

A person named “Nazari,” manager of the Mandegar Translation Office, said that in the past one or two years, the number of visits to his institution for migration has increased, and as the end of the current year approached, the demand for migration has increased further.

A person named “Afshar,” a translator at the Avid Translation Office, spoke about the situation of migration demand among the Iranian people:

“The volume of requests for document translation has increased over the past one or two years and is much more than it was ten to fifteen years ago.”

It should be noted that the increase in migration requests, especially during the coronavirus period and the limited services of embassies, indicates an increase in economic, social problems and hopelessness that, as the aforementioned website’s reporter says, has “gripped the country.”

Islamic Republic officials have not released accurate statistics about the number of “successful migrations” in recent years. Therefore, the “KhabarOnline” reporter turned to international sources, including the World Bank, to complete his report, and based on that wrote that the number of Iranian migrants has increased 2.2 times over the past thirty years.

This is while translation office owners speak of a multiple increase in migration requests over the past two years.

Based on a poll by the Q Opinionometer (Q Analytics) released in December of last year, 33 percent of respondents said they wanted to migrate from Iran, and 80 percent of them cited achieving a better economic situation or escaping a bad economic situation as the motivation for their desire to do so.

Source: DW