I state this from personal experience as a former immigration officer involved in uncovering fraud in the immigration context.
As a New Zealand born citizen Suhayra Aden has an absolute right to return to New Zealand at any time. Her citizenship cannot ever be “removed”. She can only lose her NZ citizenship by voluntarily renouncing it and only if she has first acquired an alternative citizenship (i.e. she may not be made stateless by New Zealand as the country of her birth). There may be an exception for treason but who is ever going to be charged with treason?
In her case, her only likely alternative citizenship, after Australia deprived her of her Australian citizenship, is as a Somali. This was quite within Australia’s right to do and very sensible of “Scomo” (PM Scott Morrison). He was merely ensuring that she could not return there.
Somalia will issue passports to those of Somali descent (as well as anyone not of Somali descent if they pay the right amount to a Somali passport issuing official).
Suhayra Aden’s children are automatically entitled to NZ citizenship by descent as children of a NZ born citizen. They may apply to be registered as NZ citizens at any time. They would then have New Zealand passports for entry to New Zealand (and elsewhere where they might be entitled to enter without necessarily ever coming to New Zealand). However, in their case they will be heading to New Zealand but only after they have NZ passports.
The Turkish government cannot just deport them to NZ without appropriate documentation.
Her children might, however, be entitled to Swedish citizenship (in the same manner as they are entitled to NZ citizenship) if their father was a Swedish citizen (or fathers were Swedish citizens). This is only probably likely if he was/they were Swedish born unless Swedish citizenship law is different to New Zealand’s.
However, as a precaution, I would insist on DNA tests for the children. Somalis (as well as many other nationals) are notorious for palming off family members – or even strangers – in order for them to gain entry to New Zealand (in the thousands).
The children would be extremely unlikely to be entitled to Syrian citizenship. I’m confident that the Syrian government wouldn’t want a bar of them anyway. In any case, they’ve already departed that country.
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