Residents of Afghanistan’s western Badghis province say the absence of job opportunities has left many men unable to support their families, pushing them to consider migrating to Iran despite high costs and growing risks.
Several residents said the price of an Iranian visa has risen sharply on the black market to about 100,000 afghanis ($1,400), a sum most cannot afford.
Amanullah, a father of four, said he was deported from Iran six months ago and has since been unable to find work in Badghis. After repeated unsuccessful attempts to obtain a visa, he said irregular migration had become his only option.
“There is nothing to eat here – no work, and no visas,” he said. “We are forced to go illegally, even though it is very difficult and dangerous.”
Another resident, Hossamuddin, said Iran remained one of the few places where Afghans could find employment, but legal migration had become out of reach for many.
“The visa price has reached 100,000 afghanis,” he said. “If I had that money, I would start a business here – open a shop or buy a vehicle.”
Other residents said worsening economic conditions had stripped households of their ability to meet basic needs, leaving migration as the only perceived option.
Labour migration to Iran has long been a source of income for Afghans, particularly from western provinces, but Iran has stepped up deportations in recent years, returning hundreds of thousands of migrants.
The United Nations has warned that unemployment, declining aid and large-scale returns of migrants are intensifying economic pressure across Afghanistan, increasing the risk of irregular migration and humanitarian hardship.
