Indfødsretsudvalget 2023-24
IFU Alm.del Bilag 181
Offentligt
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PCY.2024.010 - Afghan citizenship
EUAA
Query
System
PCY.2024.010
Compilation of
original replies
Query type:
Policy
Status of query: Open for replies
Launch date: 09/04/2024
Deadline for replies: 23/04/2024
Requester: Denmark
.
Dissemination policy:
Restricted
to national asylum administrations
Date and time of exporting to Word: 15/05/2024 (04:10)
Response rate: 17
out of 31 EU+ countries replied
Countries that replied:
(BE, CZ, EE, FI, DE, HU, IE, IT, LU, NL, NO, PL, SK,
SI, ES, SE, CH)
For any questions, please contact
[email protected].
Background information/reasons for asking query
The Naturalisation Committee of the Danish Parliament (Folketinget) has tabled a question for the Danish
Minister of Immigration and Integration in which they have requested the minister to ascertain whether or
not the Taliban in Afghanistan complies with the Afghan Naturalization
Law of 24 June 2000.
The
committee specifically wishes to know if the Taliban comply with the
Article 9, 2
of the law in question,
which states that persons born of Afghan parents in or outside Afghanistan inherits Afghan citizenship. To
this end, Denmark would like to know if other EU+ countries have more insight as to how the Taliban in
Afghanistan consider the citizenship status of e.g. the children born of Afghani parents outside
Afghanistan.
Please note that information collected through this query will be shared with the Naturalisation Committee
of the Danish Parliament (Folketinget). At the end of the query responding countries are asked to indicate
whether they grant their consent to this end.
NB:
Kindly note that while the primary recipients for this query are members of the network for policy
queries, members of the ‘Country Guidance Network- Afghanistan’ are copied in the dissemination of this
query for their information (as 'read-only' recipients without possibility to provide input on the portal). No
action is required from their end.
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 IFU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 181: Orientering om høringssvar vedr. afghansk indfødsretlovgivning, fra udlændinge- og integrationsministeren
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EUAA Query - PCY.2024.010
Afghan citizenship
European Union Agency for Asylum, Information and Analysis Sector
EUAA Query System
e-mail: [email protected]
Please note that information in the Query Portal is restricted to authorised users from national asylum and reception adminis trations in
EU+ countries. Material should not be copied, distributed or reproduced in whole or in part to an unauthorised third party. Users shall
not disclose any information from the Query Portal to stakeholders outside of asylum and reception authorities, unless authorisation
has been granted by the EUAA
Individual replies to questions
Question 1
How do you verify the nationality of claimed Afghan applicants, including in cases when the
applicants possess no official documentation?
During the asylum interview the CGRS performs a check of origin. Different questions with
regard to Afghanistan and his/her region of origin are asked.
Belgium
If the applicants for international protection possess no official documentation, an affidavit of
identity of the applicant is sufficient. This situation is regulated by the provisions of the Act on
Asylum, No. 325/1999 Coll, Section 10 (3):
“When providing information in support of his/her application for international protection, an
applicant for international protection is required to identify him/herself with a valid travel
document or other identity document or valid public instrument issued by the country of
which the an applicant for international protection is a citizen or by his/her last country of
permanent residence in the case of a stateless applicant for international protection, if
information concerning his/her state citizenship and identity can be determined from such
instrument and if it contains a photograph of the holder, or to affirm such by statutory
declaration.”
If any doubts regarding the identity or nationality arise during the administrative procedure,
the administrative authority will focus on these facts during the interview in order to verify
the claims. If the uncertainty persists, a language examination may also be taken. As far as
Afghan applicants for international protection are concerned, after August 2021, most of the
applicants had travel documents, as they participated in the evacuation program, and thus
were known to the Czech authorities. Currently, there has been a small number of
applications for international protection from Afghanistan, and there are generally no doubts
about nationality or identity.
Through a process of questioning and using country of origin information.
Estonia
Applicants are always asked if they have any original identity documents to support their
identity. If not, the identity and nationality is registered based on coherent claim of the
applicant or his/hers parents and other possible supporting documentation such as copies of
identity documents or other documents such as birth certificates. If the applicant does not
provide any documents to support their claim of nationality, he/she will be asked questions
related to the place of origin, family, residence history etc. There is also a possibility to do a
language analysis if the applicant’s Afghan origin is questionable.
The Federal Office uses various IT-tools to determine the country of origin of an applicant and
to verify the identity of the applicant. These tools are as follows:
1. reading of mobile data carriers
2. speech and dialect recognition
3. name transcription
The tools are used during the registration of the asylum application or at the latest during the
filing of the asylum application. This provides information and evidence that can help to verify
identity and nationality. If the aforementioned tools provide indications of an identity or
country of origin other than that stated by the applicant, these points must be clarified during
the interview, for example by asking questions specific to the country of origin.
Czechia
Finland
Germany
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 IFU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 181: Orientering om høringssvar vedr. afghansk indfødsretlovgivning, fra udlændinge- og integrationsministeren
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EUAA Query - PCY.2024.010
Afghan citizenship
European Union Agency for Asylum, Information and Analysis Sector
EUAA Query System
e-mail: [email protected]
Please note that information in the Query Portal is restricted to authorised users from national asylum and reception adminis trations in
EU+ countries. Material should not be copied, distributed or reproduced in whole or in part to an unauthorised third party. Users shall
not disclose any information from the Query Portal to stakeholders outside of asylum and reception authorities, unless authorisation
has been granted by the EUAA
Mainly on the basis of dialect and country knowledge.
Hungary
In Ireland, the verification of Afghan nationality for applicants who lack official documentation
typically involves a detailed assessment process. This includes interviewing the applicant to
gather comprehensive information and gather any alternative documentation regarding their
family background, family, place of birth, and other relevant details that could help establish
their Afghan nationality. Where necessary, efforts are made to verify this information through
relevant authorities or other credible sources to corroborate the applicant's claims.
In case of lack of official documentation this Commission verifies the nationality of claimed
Afghan applicants asking them questions about their background.
Italy
No answer provided
Luxembourg
With respect to persons who are documented (tazkera, passport) few additional questions are
posed to conform the nationality/origins. In general further questioning is not considered
necessary, because only rarely there are doubts with respect to nationality/origins in Afghan
cases.
If persons are undocumented (no tazkera or passport) specific questions are posed to check
their origins (nationality and origins) and a language analysis is carried out. This investigation
nearly always confirms the Afghan origins/nationality. It is very seldom that this investigation
turns out to be negative, and provides an indication that the applicant in question is not an
Afghan national/not originating from Afghanistan. Sometimes this is the case if the person in
question speaks only Punjabi.
We use different sources of information to assess the applicant's identity, including
nationality. The main source of information is gathered through the asylum interview,
through questions used as a control of nationality, place of origin and/or connection to
Afghanistan if the applicant claims to have been borned/lived outside of Afghanistan for a
long periode of time/since birth. In most cases we use open-source intelligence, if relevant,
and the National Immigration Police may check content on the applicant’s mobile phone, for
documents, contact's phone numbers etc. The police also authenticate documents such as
passports or national identity cards.
Determination of the citizenship of a foreigner – citizen of Afghanistan is carried out in the
first place on the basis of a valid document confirming identity, in particular, this document
will be a passport document. In the absence of this document, an attempt to determine the
personal data of the foreigner is made on the basis of other documents containing the data of
the foreigner and databases available to Border Guard officers, in particular the central visa
register, as well as, the POBYT system (Office for Foreigners).
Since Taliban took power in Afghanistan, there has been no Afghan applicants without
documentation.
The ID document/s would be verified, especially by any indicator of forgery.
In cases where a person has a document on the basis of which, in accordance with the
Foreigners Act, it is possible to establish identity, then this document is forwarded to the
National Forensic Laboratory (NFL), which gives its opinion on the authenticity of the
document and possible signs of tampering. If there are no signs of tampering on the
Ireland
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Slovakia
Slovenia
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 IFU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 181: Orientering om høringssvar vedr. afghansk indfødsretlovgivning, fra udlændinge- og integrationsministeren
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EUAA Query - PCY.2024.010
Afghan citizenship
European Union Agency for Asylum, Information and Analysis Sector
EUAA Query System
e-mail: [email protected]
Please note that information in the Query Portal is restricted to authorised users from national asylum and reception adminis trations in
EU+ countries. Material should not be copied, distributed or reproduced in whole or in part to an unauthorised third party. Users shall
not disclose any information from the Query Portal to stakeholders outside of asylum and reception authorities, unless authorisation
has been granted by the EUAA
document and the NFL gives an opinion that the document could be authentic (alzhough they
can't make assessments with any high degree of probability), then we accept that the person
has proven identity.
If a person does not have a document to prove their identity, it is not possible to establish
their identity beyond doubt. At that time, in doubt, the person is considered to be a citizen of
Afghanistan. If there is serious doubt that a person is a citizen of Afghanistan, they are asked
more detailed questions regarding their knowledge of Afghanistan and their family origins.
We usually verify Afghan nationality through the following documents:
Passport
Afghanistan Central Civil Registration Authority – (taskira) or Digital identity card
Birth registration
Marriage registration
Asylum applicants may establish their identity, i.e. full name, date of birth and citizenship, by
submitting their identity documents to the SMA. If the documents are deemed insufficient or
if the applicant is unable to provide any documents, the SMA needs to determine if the
applicant has made his or her identity probable based on the material in the case.
If there are doubts about the Afghan identity and biography, the Swiss State Secretariat for
Migration will examine these in more detail during an interview. In particular, the reasons for
the lack of identity documents or the circumstances of obtaining an identity document are
examined. In addition, detailed statements are expected on the claimed origin, all places of
residence, school attendance, stays abroad and the family network within or outside
Afghanistan. In certain constellations, it is possible to carry out a language analysis. However,
this analysis only allows conclusions to be drawn about the place of main socialization, but
not about the nationality.
Have you encountered cases where Afghan applicants or their children have acquired their
Afghan citizenship while living abroad?
Czechia, Hungary, Slovenia
Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland
If YES to Question 2, do you ask or do you have knowledge as to how they acquired their
citizenship while living abroad? Please elaborate.
We have no knowledge of such cases.
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Question 2
Yes
No
Question 3
Belgium
There has been only one case. The legal representative (parent) of a minor child submitted a
valid Afghan travel document for a child born in the Czech Republic after August 2021, which
was issued (without any difficulties) at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in
Prague on the basis of his request. However, we do not have a specific overview of how the
Taliban in Afghanistan assesses citizenship status for a child born to Afghan parents outside
Afghanistan.
-
Estonia
n/a
Czechia
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 IFU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 181: Orientering om høringssvar vedr. afghansk indfødsretlovgivning, fra udlændinge- og integrationsministeren
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EUAA Query - PCY.2024.010
Afghan citizenship
European Union Agency for Asylum, Information and Analysis Sector
EUAA Query System
e-mail: [email protected]
Please note that information in the Query Portal is restricted to authorised users from national asylum and reception adminis trations in
EU+ countries. Material should not be copied, distributed or reproduced in whole or in part to an unauthorised third party. Users shall
not disclose any information from the Query Portal to stakeholders outside of asylum and reception authorities, unless authorisation
has been granted by the EUAA
Finland
The Federal Office does not keep statistics on the acquisition of citizenship of the country of
origin during the stay in Germany. Therefore, the Federal Office has no information available.
Germany
Yes, questions regarding the acquired citizenship are being asked.
Hungary
While we have not encountered cases of Afghan applicants or their children acquiring Afghan
citizenship while living abroad in our experience, we do not have specific knowledge on how
such acquisition may occur under Afghan law.
No answer provided
Italy
No answer provided
Luxembourg
With respect to questions 2 and 3 above: this Naturalization Law was adopted by the Taleban
themselves, when they were in power in Afghanistan. It is in our view extremely unlikely to
assume that the Taleban would not respect this law and we have not encountered any
information which points to the contrary.
We have no available information on any such cases the past years.
We have country of origin information regarding the issuance of Afghan passports abroad
after the Taliban takeover, however, we do not have information on naturalization of Afghan
citizenships abroad after the Taliban takeover.
No answer provided
Poland
N/A
Slovakia
According to the aforementioned naturalisation law, we understand that a person born to
Afghan parents acquires Afghan citizenship. It is necessary to distinguish the acquisition of
citizenship from the acquisition of documents that prove this citizenship. We had cases of
people who lived in Iran for a long time, some were even born in Iran, and they never raised
the issue of not having Afghan citizenship. Of course, they had no documents to prove it.
No answer provided
Spain
No answer provided
Sweden
Ireland
Netherlands
Norway
Slovenia
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 IFU, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 181: Orientering om høringssvar vedr. afghansk indfødsretlovgivning, fra udlændinge- og integrationsministeren
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EUAA Query - PCY.2024.010
Afghan citizenship
European Union Agency for Asylum, Information and Analysis Sector
EUAA Query System
e-mail: [email protected]
Please note that information in the Query Portal is restricted to authorised users from national asylum and reception adminis trations in
EU+ countries. Material should not be copied, distributed or reproduced in whole or in part to an unauthorised third party. Users shall
not disclose any information from the Query Portal to stakeholders outside of asylum and reception authorities, unless authorisation
has been granted by the EUAA
No answer provided
Switzerland
Question 4
Yes
No
CONSENT:
Information collected through this query will be shared with the Naturalisation
Committee of the Danish Parliament (Folketinget). Do you grant your consent to this end?
Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
Additional details
Attachments to query
Attachments to individual replies
•
Luxembourg 1
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