The cost of a new 5-year Afghan passport is 5,000 afghanis (AFN). A 10-year passport requires a fee of 10,000 AFN.[4][12] Currently, up to 10,000 Afghan passports can be issued daily.[13] This number is expected to reach up to 15,000.[14]
The Afghan passport has been labelled by the Henley Passport Index as the least powerful passport in the world, with its holders only able to visit 26 destinations visa-free.[15]
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 AFN.[4] 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 AFN. By January 2016, nearly one million of the new computerized Afghan passports have been issued.[20]
Passport distribution centers exist in many provinces of Afghanistan,[21][22][23] with the main ones located in Kabul Province.[24] A total of four different locations within Kabul are believed to be distributing passports.[25] The General Directorate of Passports stated that it issued 500,000 passports in one year and collected over 4.2 billion AFN in processing fees.[1][13][26] In addition to being a travel document, the passport can also be used to purchase a SIM card, send or receive money through Western Union, open bank accounts, rent a house, or stay in hotels.[2]
The Afghan embassies and consulates also issue Afghan passports to the Afghan diaspora.[27][28][29][30] After a pause following the Taliban takeover of the government in August 2021,[31] issuing of passports resumed before the end of that year.[32] Though it was reported in March 2022 that the Taliban had introduced a new design bearing the name "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan",[33] 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.[34]
As of October 2021,[update] Afghan citizens have visa-free or visa on arrival access to 26 countries and territories,[35] ranking the passport 116th and worst in the world according to the Henley Passport Index.[15][36] 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.[32]
Corruption
In 2015, Afghanistan's TOLOnews reported that a number of citizens of Iran and Pakistan have fraudulently obtained Afghan passports.[37][32] 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."[38][39][40] It was also reported that some people pay hundreds of US dollars for fake emergency medical documents, which allows them to obtain Afghan passports expeditiously.[41]
^"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
