Long Queues in Kabul: Reflecting Iran’s Deportation Policy
WANA (Aug 06) – A recent video circulating on social media shows long queues of Afghans outside the Iranian Embassy in Kabul—people waiting with hope to obtain legal visas so they can return to Iran. This scene comes as the wave of undocumented Afghan nationals leaving Iran intensifies, driving the voluntary or forced return of hundreds of thousands.
A long queue of Afghans in front of the Iranian embassy in Kabul. Social Media / WANA News Agency
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), up to three million Afghan migrants are expected to return from Iran and Pakistan to Afghanistan by the end of this year. In recent weeks alone, more than 700,000 Afghans have crossed from Iran back into their homeland. In total, over 1.8 million Afghans—mostly from Iran—have returned so far this year.
Iran has long hosted one of the largest Afghan communities in the world. Estimates suggest that around six million Afghans currently live in Iran, but only two million hold legal residency. The remaining four million lack official documents—many of them born in Iran and unfamiliar with Afghanistan itself.
Afghan Migrants. Social media/ WANA News Agency
Iran’s Policy: From Voluntary Exit to a Five-Year Ban
Iranian officials say the decision to regulate the status of undocumented migrants was made months before recent regional tensions. Alireza Bigdeli, Iran’s chargé d’affaires in Kabul, explained that the program was first introduced in 2023 but postponed until the summer of 2025 due to political changes in Tehran.
Under the plan, undocumented migrants who leave Iran by the July 6, 2025 deadline will remain eligible to apply for legal entry and residency in the future. Those who overstay will face a five-year ban on entering Iran.
As the pace of returns has accelerated, Abdul Salam Hanafi, deputy prime minister of the Taliban, has urged Tehran to treat Afghan nationals “with respect.” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid also stressed Afghanistan’s limited capacity to absorb such a massive influx: “We will assist, but our resources are scarce.”
Iran’s Five Decades of Hosting Migrants Without International Aid
WANA (Jul 17) – During the recent war between Iran and Israel, the issue of the presence of undocumented Afghan nationals in Iran once again became a hot topic in public discourse. Although some foreign media outlets attempted to link the deportation of these individuals to the recent tensions, the reality is that Iran had […]
Security and Economy: The Twin Pillars of Iran’s Policy
Beyond economic pressures, Iranian officials cite security concerns as a key driver for speeding up returns. Reports have surfaced that some Central Asian nationals were involved in producing drones used in the recent Iran-Israel conflict, heightening Tehran’s security worries. In recent years, Iran has also built sections of a border wall in the east to curb illegal entry routes.
Conflicting Narratives: Between Gratitude and Complaint
Some media reports highlight harsh stories from returnees, describing conditions as inhumane—from a man who said living in Iran was “equal to death” to others lamenting the steep costs of returning and poor conditions back home. Conversely, other accounts underscore Iranian hospitality, such as one man who recalled how all his Iranian neighbors wept when he said goodbye.
Afghan Migrants. Social media/ WANA News Agency
Iranian officials argue that much of the dissatisfaction stems from unclear residency status or shared economic hardships, rather than direct mistreatment. They emphasize that for the past 47 years, Iran has provided Afghans with services such as education, healthcare, and subsidized energy—benefits that many wealthier countries in the region have not offered. Some grievances, they note, such as high transportation costs, also affect Iranian citizens, making expectations of free services unrealistic.
Given the massive scale of migration and Iran’s economic and security constraints, the plan to remove undocumented migrants appears inevitable. While the Taliban warn of insufficient capacity to reintegrate returnees, Iran insists the policy is a planned initiative, not a hasty reaction to regional developments.
Yet the reality on the ground remains dual: the long queues outside the Iranian Embassy in Kabul reveal both the deep desire of Afghans to return legally and the heavy pressure of a policy likely to reshape the face of migration in the region for years to come.
