Over 500,000 Visas Issued To Afghans Annually, Says Adviser To Iran's Interior Minister

Nader Yarahmadi, an adviser to Iran's interior minister, said that the Islamic Republic issues more than 500,000 visas annually to Afghan citizens.

Emphasising on the deportation of migrants from Iran, he said that some Afghans "have quasi-legal documents that are considered inadmissible".

Yarahmadi is an adviser to the Minister of Interior and the head of the Centre for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs of the Ministry.

In a meeting with the governor of Bushehr on Tuesday, he said that Afghan immigrants who have quasi-legal documents will be identified and deported from Iran.

The official did not elaborate on the "quasi-legal evidence”.

The Islamic Republic deports undocumented immigrants. The country has also deported Afghans with Iranian passports and visas, and this process is still ongoing.

He claimed that Afghan immigrants who enter Iran with visas have the necessary services.

The head of the Centre for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs of the Iranian Ministry of Interior said that the number of Afghan nationals and immigrants in Iran exceeds the population of a number of countries combined.

Nader Yarahmadi added that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) pays $5 for each citizen, which he said is insignificant compared to the services the refugees get from the Islamic Republic.