MANILA, Philippines — A limited number of Afghan nationals who fled the Taliban rule will be accommodated by the Philippines to get their visa and resettlement to the United States, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
“The Philippines and the United States have agreed on allowing a limited number of Afghan nationals to transit to the Philippines to complete their visa processing for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) and resettlement to the United States,” the DFA said late Tuesday night.
The foreign affairs bureau did not disclose the number of Afghan nationals to be accommodated by the Philippines but some reports said the Philippines can cater to up to 300 Afghans under the one-time deal with Washington.
The DFA said that the US government is providing essential services to Afghans temporarily in the Philippines, including food, housing, security, medical care, and transportation for visa processing.
According to the DFA, the agreement is currently completing the final steps needed to take effect.
Afghan nationals in transit to the Philippines will have 59 days to complete their visa applications. During this period, they will be housed in a billet facility at an undisclosed location, according to the DFA.
Each refugee entering the Philippines under the agreement will undergo “full security vetting by Philippine authorities” and must obtain the appropriate entry visa prior to arrival.
“Notwithstanding the possession of a [Philippine] visa, the Bureau of Immigration retains full authority to exclude any applicant from entry into the Philippines as a result of the standard immigration examination upon arrival in the country,” the DFA said.
“All applicants will have been medically screened already in Afghanistan and need to leave their billet facility only once for their consular interview at the US Embassy in Manila,” it said.
Reports showed that Afghan refugees are the third-largest displaced population worldwide, after Syrians and Ukrainians. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) 2023 Global Trends report, their numbers increased by 741,400 by the end of 2023, reaching 6.4 million, due in part to updated figures from Iran and Pakistan.
Iran currently hosts about 4.5 million Afghan refugees, with 71 percent being women and children, and has 3.2 million internally displaced persons while over 650,800 Afghans have returned from Pakistan since September 15, 2023, the UNHCR report said.
