Iran International
A Canadian move to deport a former Iranian roads official working as an Uber driver over his previous work has been rejected an immigration review body for his lack of seniority in Tehran's ruling apparatus.
The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) ruled on August 12, 2025 to reject a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) application to deport Afshin Pirnoon.
Documents related to his case, shared with Iran International by Global News, indicate Ottawa's push to deport former Iranian officials faces a high evidentiary bar.
Canada's government barred entry and residency for “senior officials” of the Islamic Republic in 2022 citing accusations Tehran is a state-sponsored terrorism and systematic human rights abuser.
The policy aims also to prevent the risk of so-called transnational repression by Iran or its agents among Canada's sizable Iranian diaspora community. It tasks CBSA with cases of people it deems inadmissible to Canada to the IRB for review.
Pirnoon, worked as a civil engineer and Director-General of the Road Maintenance Office at Iran’s Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization for 22 years.
The IRB found he did not to meet the statutory definition of an Iranian “senior official” or to have “significant influence over the exercise of government power," therefore the legal requirement for his being deemed inadmissible was not met.
Pirnoon came to Canada on a tourist visa in 2022 and was working as an Uber driver when the Canada Border Services Agency launched deportation proceedings.
Three-year track record
Official data indicates that 23 individuals have been identified as suspected senior Iranian officials and 21 cases have been referred to the IRB.
But only three removal orders have been issued, with just one removal carried out to date, though some have departed voluntarily.
Canada has previously referred identified Iranian officials in the country to the IRB to assess their status and determine whether they qualify as “senior officials.”
These include Majid Iranmanesh, a former director-general in the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology, whom the IRB found to be a senior official and ordered removed on February 2, 2024.
Another was Seyed Salman Samani, former deputy minister and spokesperson of Iran’s Interior Ministry, who received a removal order on March 20, 2024.
By contrast, in several other cases—including Pirnoon’s—the IRB has found that an official position alone, attendance of official ceremonies or routine administrative duties do not prove actual influence over policymaking or the exercise of power.
The record suggests that while the government and security agencies stress threats linked to transnational repression and public-safety imperatives, the evidentiary threshold for proving seniority and influence before the IRB remains high.
