Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

Information on passports issued by the Central Passport Department in Kabul in June 2014 was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

In correspondence sent to the Research Directorate through a representative of the Canadian embassy in Kabul, the Ministry of the Interior of Afghanistan indicated the following regarding passports issued in June 2014:

• The issuing of handwritten passports still continues.
• Biometric test is mandatory for the issuance of computerized passports and they are valid for five years.
• Computerized passports are issued individually to each applicant. Children cannot be included on their mother's passport.
• Computerized and standard passports are issued by [the] Passport Department in Kabul across the country. (Afghanistan 1 Dec. 2015)

Information on whether a minor can be included on their father's passport could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

In an article published on 19 September 2015, the New York Times indicates that "[s]o many people are applying for new passports that lines begin forming at 2 a.m. outside the passport office in Kabul, the only place they are issued now." In an article published on 22 September 2015, BloombergBusiness, a business news website based in New York, similarly indicates that "[h]undreds of people in recent months have arrived before dawn to queue outside of Kabul's only passport office" (BloombergBusiness 22 Sept. 2015). Further information on passport issuance procedures could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Information on the description of passports issued in June 2014 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Afghanistan. 1 December 2015. Ministry of the Interior. Correspondence sent to the Research Directorate through the Canadian embassy in Kabul.

BloombergBusiness. 22 September 2015. Eltaf Najafizada. "Afghanistan Can't Print Passports Fast Enough as Exodus Worsens." [Accessed 15 Oct. 2015]

The New York Times. 19 September 2015. Rod Nordland. "Abandoning Afghan War Zone in a Perilous Quest for Europe." [Accessed 15 Oct. 2015]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Afghanistan – embassy in Ottawa.

Internet sites, including: Afghanistan – Embassy in Washington, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit; Council of the European Union – PRADO; Factiva; Freedom House; Keesing Reference Systems; Pajhwok Afghan News; United Nations – Refworld; United States – Department of State, Embassy in Kabul.