Afghan passport

Afghan passports are identity and travel documents issued by the Ministry of Interior to citizens of Afghanistan in order for them to visit other countries around the world.[1][4] Every citizen with a valid Afghan identity card (Tazkira) can apply for and receive an Afghan passport,[5][6][7] which is renewable every 5-10 years.[2] The Afghan passport was introduced by Emir Abdur Rahman Khan in 1880. It recently became a biometric passport.[8][9] Alam Gul Haqqani is the current head of the passport department.[10][11]

Afghan passport
Front cover of an Afghan passport. New passports continue to carry this design despite the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in 2021.
TypePassport
Issued byCentral Passport Office[1]
First issued1880
PurposeIdentification; international travel
EligibilityAfghan citizenship
Expiration5-10 years[2]
Cost5,000-10,000 afghanis (AFS)[3]

The Afghan passport has been labelled by the Henley Passport Index as the least powerful passport in the world, with its nationals only able to visit 26 destinations visa-free.[12] The cost of a new 5-year Afghan passport is 5,000 afghanis (AFS). A 10-year passport requires 10,000 AFS.[3][13] Up to 10,000 Afghan passports can be issued in a day.[14][15]

History

The Afghan passport was introduced by Emir Abdur Rahman Khan in 1880.

In September 2011, Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs began issuing two types of biometric passports (e-passports) for Afghan diplomats and public servants. These were produced in the United Kingdom.[8][16] The standard e-passports began being issued to the general public in March 2013.[17][9] According to then-spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Janan Musazai, "on the photo page, there are 16 security codes."[8] Issuance of national computerized e-ID cards (e-Tazkiras) were also discussed.[18] These changes were intended to prevent fraud in future elections and government corruption as well as to improve the overall security of Afghanistan.

In 2017, a new five-year Afghan e-passport was reported to cost 5,000 AFS.[3] Previously, passports had been hand written based on information found on paper Afghan ID cards, which are no longer accepted.[19] A ten-year passport later became available for 10,000 AFS. By January 2016, nearly one million of the new computerized Afghan passports have been issued.[20]

Afghanistan has a number of passport distribution offices,[21][22][23] with the main one located in Kabul.[14] The General Directorate of Passports announced in August 2022 that a total of four different locations within Kabul will soon begin distributing passports.[12]

Ordinary passports (those other than diplomatic or service passports) can be issued by Afghan embassies and consulates abroad.[24] After a pause following the Taliban takeover of the government in August 2021,[25] issuing of passports resumed before the end of that year.[26] Though it was reported in March 2022 that the Taliban had introduced a new design bearing the name "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan",[27] Shirshah Quarishi, deputy director of the Passport Department, said in August 2022 that newly issued passports would not carry a new design, which was likely a practical decision taken to ensure they would be accepted for travel by other countries, all of which continue to recognize the previous regime.[28]

Visa requirements
Main article: Visa requirements for Afghan citizens

As of October 2021, Afghan citizens have visa-free or visa on arrival access to 26 countries and territories,[29] ranking the passport 116th and worst in the world according to the Henley Passport Index.[30] Because the ruling Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is not internationally recognized, it is continuing to issue passports bearing the name of the former, internationally-recognized government, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which are accepted for international travel. However, obtaining foreign visas from within Afghanistan is difficult as many embassies in Afghanistan have closed in the wake of the Fall of Kabul on 15 August 2021.[26]

Corruption

In 2015, Afghanistan's TOLOnews reported that a number of citizens of Iran and Pakistan have fraudulently obtained Afghan passports.[31][26] It was reported recently "that a number of counterfeiters abroad had prepared passport booklets, smuggled them into the country and distributed them to the public."[32][33][34]

See also

References
  1. "Passport Office generates over 4b afs revenue in a year". Pajhwok Afghan News. August 23, 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  2. "Applicants above 15 to get 10-year passports". Pajhwok Afghan News. April 18, 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  3. "Afghanistan: Requirements and procedures to obtain, renew, and replace a biometric passport, both within and outside the country; validity period of passport; whether the 'place of birth' noted in the passport is the same as the one listed on the tazkira, and whether it refers to the place of birth of the owner of the passport or their father's (2015-January 2017)". Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. February 20, 2017. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  4. "Online Passport Registration Services to Resume in Afghan Provinces: Passport Department". Khaama Press. August 23, 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  5. "Online Application for Passport Resumes in Kabul". Khaama Press. April 9, 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  6. "Passports to be issued only on e-ID cards". Pajhwok Afghan News. March 10, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  7. "ENIC process at a snail's pace: Balkh residents". Pajhwok Afghan News. July 25, 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  8. Meer Agha Nasrat Samimi, ed. (September 17, 2011). "Foreign ministry issues computerised passports". Pajhwok Afghan News. Archived from the original on 2013-04-10. Retrieved 2012-12-30.
  9. "Modernising the Afghan Passport Office". Khaama Press. November 5, 2014. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  10. "Alam Gul Haqqani appointed Passport Department head". Pajhwok Afghan News. September 20, 2021. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  11. "Taliban govt resumes issuing Afghan passports in Kabul". Agence France-Presse. France 24. 18 December 2021. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  12. "Officials Say 4 Passport Distribution Centers Will Be Opened in Kabul". TOLOnews. August 23, 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  13. "Requirement for obtaining Afghan passport". Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Canberra, Australia. 2018. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  14. "Passport Distribution Begins in Kabul, Other Provinces". TOLOnews. March 1, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  15. "Afghanistan Resumes Passport Distribution After Five-Month Break". Khaama Press. March 1, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  16. "Foreign ministry issues computerised passports (Video)". Pajhwok Afghan News. September 18, 2011. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
  17. "Machine-readable passport system put in place". Pajhwok Afghan News. March 24, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-31.
  18. "14m Afghans to get computerised ID cards in a year". Pajhwok Afghan News. February 24, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-31.
  19. "Gov't initiates distributing passports on electrical IDs". Khaama Press. March 10, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  20. "Afghanistan Launches Online Passport Application Service". TOLOnews. January 14, 2016. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  21. "Passport offices to open in another 14 provinces: IEA". Ariana News. December 5, 2021. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  22. "Passport distribution begins in Baghlan as well". Pajhwok Afghan News. December 6, 2021. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  23. "Some people get passports on fake illness documents". Pajhwok Afghan News. January 2, 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  24. Afghan Embassy in Ottawa, Canada. "Passport: Requirements For Obtaining Afghan Passport". Embassy of Afghanistan in Ottawa. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  25. "Current National IDs, passports valid, will change in future: Taliban". Khaama Press. September 25, 2021. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  26. Amy Cheng; Haq Nawaz Khan (6 October 2021). "Hundreds of Afghans gather outside passport office as Taliban resumes issuing travel documents". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  27. "Afghan diplomats under pressure from Taliban regime". Agence France-Presse. France 24. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022. New passports issued in Kabul now refer to the country by the Taliban's name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
  28. Dawi, Akmal (24 August 2022). "Taliban Make Millions From Passports Issued to Fleeing Afghans". Voice of America. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  29. "Afghanistan at bottom of global passport index". Pajhwok Afghan News. January 13, 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  30. Henley & Partners (5 October 2021). "The Henley Passport Index: Q4 2021 Global Ranking" (PDF). Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  31. "Fraud in Passport Office Revealed After Iranian National Got Afghan Passport". TOLOnews. August 22, 2015. Retrieved 2021-07-28. It is now said many Iranians and Pakistanis seek out Afghan passports in order to get easier access to the UAE.
  32. "Officials: 3 Million Passport Booklets to Arrive in 2 Weeks". TOLOnews. May 23, 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  33. "Group involved in printing fake passports arrested". Pajhwok Afghan News. May 23, 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  34. "Afghan passports up for grabs in black market". Pajhwok Afghan News. September 17, 2021. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
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