Uncertain Future for Undocumented Afghans in Iran Amid Intensified Crackdowns

As Iran intensifies restrictions on undocumented Afghans' access to healthcare, education, housing, and other essential services, millions of Afghan citizens in Iran face an uncertain fate. The new policies, which came into effect on April 1, 2025, have placed many Afghan citizens in a position of two impossible choices: a country that has a hostile view of them and a homeland that is unstable. For Rashid, an Afghan migrant residing in Iran, the consequences of these policies have already manifested. He recently returned to Afghanistan because Iranian doctors refused to treat his elderly mother, who suffers from heart problems. Rashid recalls a conversation with a public hospital official in Tehran, who told him to return to Afghanistan because Afghans would no longer receive medical services. Thousands of desperate Afghans risk the journey to Iran in search of work. He, wishing to remain anonymous, told Radio Azadi, the Afghan section of Radio Free Europe, "My mother's health deteriorated rapidly, which forced me to return to my country." In Karaj, not far from Tehran, Ehsan Zia, another Afghan migrant, was very disheartened after being told that his two teenage daughters could no longer attend school. He told Radio Azadi, "Our hopes have faded. Even here, my daughters have been deprived of education." Zia moved to Iran three years ago after the Taliban took power in Afghanistan and banned girls' education. Despite having a residence permit in Iran, he has been unable to enroll his daughters in school due to bureaucratic obstacles and changing policies. The General Directorate of Foreign Nationals and Immigrants Affairs at Iran's Ministry of Interior published a list last month of six groups of "authorized Afghan nationals" who can remain in Iran. Nader Yar Ahmadi, advisor to the minister and head of the Foreign Nationals and Immigrants Affairs Center, told ISNA that "due to increased oversight to regulate foreigners, as of April 1, health, medical, real estate transactions, etc., will not be provided to unauthorized foreigners." He identified these six groups as: "Afghans counted as migrants," "Individuals with valid passports and expired visas or work permits," "Former government employees of Afghanistan," and "Families with school-age children who have applied for visas." A Taliban militia member is checking the passports of Afghans at the Islam Qala border crossing. Over the past two years, Tehran has expelled more than two million Afghans as part of a campaign against illegal migrants. The advisor to the minister defended this action, stating to ISNA that "given the relative stability established and the announced policies of the current Afghan government, there is no obstacle to the return of [migrants] to their country." According to estimates by the UN Refugee Agency, about four million Afghans live in Iran, including two million "illegal migrants." Meanwhile, Iranian officials and state media report higher figures, even claiming that over eight million Afghans are present in the country. The intensified crackdowns on illegal Afghans in Iran have coincided with rising anti-Afghan sentiments in the country. Poor Afghan migrants in Iran are often blamed for crime, insecurity, and unemployment. Grima Smith, a senior analyst on Afghanistan at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, states, "Depriving migrants of basic services disrupts the labor market balance and pushes more individuals into the underground economy." Afghan migrants play a significant role in Iran's workforce in agriculture and construction sectors, which could be adversely affected by widespread expulsions of illegal migrants. Smith also warned that Tehran's policies could escalate tensions between Iran and Afghanistan. The Taliban government has also clashed with Pakistan over how to deal with Afghan migrants. Referring to the water tension between Iran and the Taliban, he said, "The Taliban may be provoked to respond, for example, by imposing restrictions on Iran's water rights." Experts suggest that Tehran's approach may have counterproductive results, both economically and geopolitically. Iran, which has been heavily sanctioned and isolated in the world, needs a stable relationship with the Taliban government in Afghanistan to expand trade, border security, and create a cohesive regional economy. Smith concludes, "This will not only cause suffering for Afghans but will also bring a failed policy for Iran."