Afghan migrants residing in neighboring Iran said they face many challenges as the issuance of Afghanistan’s electronic identity cards (eNIC) ceased in Iran following the fall of Afghanistan’s former government.

The migrants said the Iranian government will not permit Afghan migrants to continue with their education or to apply for a residential card if they do not hold electronic identity cards or an Afghan passport.

“The migrants who are illegally living in Iran hope to receive ID cards, then passports, this would facilitate the process of receiving residential cards in Iran, so when the centers closed the migrants lost hope,” said Parwiz Amir, a migrant.

“The majority of the migrants are facing challenges after the closure of centers in Iran,” said Enayatullah Alokozai, a student in Iran.

At the same time, migrants' rights advocates urged the Islamic Emirate to address the problems of migrants in Iran. 

The national statistics and information authority confirmed that the process of issuing identity cards has been suspended due to a lack of diplomatic relations between Afghanistan’s embassy in Tehran and the Iranian government.

“The Islamic Emirate in a ministerial meeting decided to suspend the process of distributing ID cards abroad for now, the government will decide over it in the future,” said Mohammad Alim Rafe, spokesman of NSIA.

Iran and Pakistan host the largest numbers of Afghan migrants; more than 3 million Afghans are reported living in Iran right now.