KABUL -
The actual cost of a Tajik visa ranges between 50 and 150 dollars, but it is sold on the black market for between 350 and a thousand dollars, and in recent days the price of a quarterly visa has risen to 2,400 dollars.
With the Taliban movement coming to power in mid-August of this year, a number of Afghans, for various reasons, began their efforts to leave the country, and the demand for legal travel documents increased, as most embassies closed their diplomatic offices or suspended their consular services.
In addition, air and land travel was suspended due to service disruptions, and it became difficult for most of those wishing to obtain visas from embassies, all of which led to a boom in the black market for visas and the forgery of travel documents in an unprecedented way.
At present, with the exception of the embassies of Pakistan and China, the embassies of other countries have stopped their consular activities, and the Passport Department of the Ministry of Interior has recently started distributing or renewing passports. Due to the demand for travel documents, including visas, the black market for these documents has become very booming due to the demand and demand of people .
The former employee, "Shafie" (a pseudonym), says, "I have repeatedly tried to obtain a Turkish visa before the fall of the previous Afghan government, and I had to look for mediation, but luck was not good for me, so I had to go to the black market and visa brokers, so I realized that this is another world far from the eyes of the authorities and their intelligence, Then I compared the official prices for visas with those on the black market, and the real price of a Tajik visa is 60 dollars, but it is offered on the black market 300-450 dollars."
He added to Al-Jazeera Net, "The real price of the Turkish visa is 120 dollars, but it can be sold on the black market for up to 5 thousand dollars, and these are secrets that the Afghan authorities do not know."
A source in the Ministry of the Interior told Al Jazeera Net, "Given the data received from various parties, the price of visas has increased on the black market, and applicants for visas are patients, former officials, students, employees of foreign institutions, businessmen."
The demand for travel documents increased after most embassies in Afghanistan closed their diplomatic offices or suspended their consular services (Al-Jazeera)
Old and active network
One of the brokers, called Ahmed Samim (pseudonym), told Al Jazeera Net, "There is a wide network operating in the black market for visas, which is old, but it is active now and has strong relations with all foreign embassies in Afghanistan, despite the closure of the embassies, but you can obtain the visas you want within 15 days, In addition, there are people who have great skill in forging documents and even visas of some countries."
Although consular services have stopped in all embassies, you can get the visa you want on the black market at prices that can be described as fantastic, such as the Pakistani visa that was given to the Afghan citizen for free, prior to the recent unrest and the fall of the previous government, as it was available overnight on the condition of traveling by Pakistan Air.
In order to avoid crowds in front of the Pakistani embassy and consulates and to combat corruption, it established an online visa service for a year for $8, and after the recent developments, the price of the visa increased in an unprecedented way.
"Currently, the price of the paper visa in the passport ranges between 250-500 dollars on the black market, and the cost of the online visa is between 20-150 dollars," he told Al-Jazeera Net.
He adds, "Having a visa does not mean that you can cross into Pakistani territory, as Islamabad closed its border with Afghanistan, and I know people who have not been able to travel for several months because of problems at the border between the two countries."
Uzbekistan is a neighboring country, and Afghans have come to it for many reasons, the most important of which is the common culture between the two countries and the lower prices compared to Afghanistan.
After the fall of the previous government, Uzbekistan decided to close its embassy and consulates in Afghanistan, and stopped issuing new visas.
Ahmed Samim (a pseudonym) says, “The Uzbek visa is sold on the black market, and according to the period from one month to 12 months, between one thousand and four thousand dollars, by Afghan brokers and brokers who are ostensibly employees of the tourism companies, and these companies are doing their best not to write The price is on its pages in the communication sites, but they settle the price with the customer via “WhatsApp”.
Despite the cessation of consular services in all embassies in Afghanistan, you can obtain the visa you want on the black market (Al-Jazeera)
falsification of travel documents
After the outbreak of the Corona virus and recent developments, Uzbekistan decided to close its borders and not to receive Afghans in its lands, and a source in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan told Al-Jazeera Net, "Despite the closure of the borders between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, and the failure to grant the Uzbek visa in the right way, some parties provide you with travel there through Forging visas and tickets for one of the Gulf countries on the grounds that you are leaving through Uzbek territory to this country.”
The situation is not different with Tajikistan, Iran and Kazakhstan, and the visas of these countries are on the black market, Ahmed Samim told Al Jazeera Net, "The Iranian embassy is in Kabul, but it does not provide consular services, and you can obtain the visa through the intermediary in the city of Jalalabad, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif, the price The actual Iranian visa is $50, and it is now sold on the black market for a value of between two thousand and three thousand dollars.
Despite Afghans' demand for Turkish visas, the Ankara Embassy in Afghanistan has refrained from granting visas to Afghans for nearly 8 months, and deals with Afghans through a private company.
A company source told Al Jazeera Net, "Before the fall of the previous government, we handed over to the Turkish embassy more than 70,000 applications regarding the Turkish visa, and only a few were granted, most of them were former officials, and despite the closure of Turkish consulates, you can obtain the Turkish visa at a price ranging between 4 thousand and 5 thousand dollars. ".
After the end of the process of evacuating Afghans and foreigners from the American forces, the market for human smuggling to Europe was active. Previously, people smugglers used Pakistani airports, but now they have headed to the countries of Central Asia, Iran and Turkey.
Writer and political researcher Humayun Rahmani told Al Jazeera Net, "The market for human smuggling to Europe was active through Iranian and then Turkish lands because it is close to Europe, and even the process of evacuating American forces there were special cases, and brokers were able to open channels of communication with those who work with foreign forces to enter those who want Leave Afghanistan for the United States and Germany.
Rahmani added that, according to the available information, "brokers used to charge one person 20,000 dollars, and the family of 6 people 50,000 dollars, and not only Afghans, as many Pakistanis and Iranians went to Afghanistan in the hope of reaching Europe as part of an operation." evacuation.”
However, many Afghan citizens are asking foreign countries to open their embassies, as most European countries only grant visas in a third country for security reasons.
Jamil Akbari, an employee of a travel company, told Al Jazeera Net, "Opening embassies legally can eliminate the black market for selling visas, and for a long time we have heard news about the black market and that it is an organized process, and there are foreigners and Afghans working in this field, and there are specific seasons, for example now people accept On the Turkish visa, this is the first destination, then Iran, until the Hajj and Umrah seasons.