Iran issues more than 400,000 visas for Afghans in last 11 months

The Iranian consulate in Herat province says over 400,000 visas have been issued to Afghan citizens in the last year, out of which 200,000 were for Herat residents.

“Over the past eleven months, we have issued 200,000 visas at Herat representative office alone, and the same amount has been issued in our other four agencies; we have issued approximately 400,000 or 450,000 visas to Afghan citizens this year,” said Mohammad Sediq Far, Consul General of Iran for Herat.

According to reports, hundreds of Afghans travel to Iran legally on a daily basis, and their reason for leaving the country is reported unemployment in the country.

“We ask the Islamic Emirate to provide job opportunities for the people so that they don’t have to travel to other countries,” said Mohammad Arif, a Baghlan resident.

Herat officials meanwhile say efforts are ongoing to provide job opportunities for the residents.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is trying to provide employment opportunities for the youth,” said Naimulhaq Haqqani, head of information and culture in Herat.

According to the statistics of the Iranian consulate in Herat, more than five million Afghan immigrants are currently living in Iran.

In addition, more than 1,000 Afghan immigrants return to the country through Islam Qala border every day.