SEM (Switzerland) Focus. Return from abroad

Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, many Afghan nationals have returned to their home country. A large proportion are people who had previously lived in the neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Iran, with or without residence status. They were either forcibly repatriated or left the neighbouring country voluntarily, the latter often out of fear of forced repatriation. Turkey has also repatriated thousands of Afghan nationals, mostly by air. A few Afghans voluntarily travelled from Western countries back to their country of origin. Forced returns have only occurred in isolated cases so far, such as the deportation of 28 criminal offenders by charter flight from Germany in August 2024. Returnees from neighbouring countries almost exclusively enter the country by land, as do those who are forcibly repatriated. The border controls of the Taliban interim authorities are generally superficial. Afghan nationals are always allowed to enter, regardless of whether they have valid travel documents or not. With few exceptions, there are no documented cases of arrests or other abuses of returnees at the official border crossings. Similarly, there are hardly any reported problems at airports when entering the country.. Numerous passengers enter the country every day at airports, including from Western countries. Most of them are business travellers and visitors from the Afghan diaspora. At the beginning, people deported from Turkey were questioned more thoroughly than others, but now they can enter the country without any disturbances. Most of those deported from Germany were initially detained and questioned for some time, but have since also been released. At the border crossings there are reception structures that are run by the Afghan authorities and international organisations as well as NGOs. They offer returnees temporary shelter, food, healthcare and other services. However, returnees reported to the Country Analysis SEM that these services are not always accessible to everyone. The biggest challenge for returnees is access to livelihood, primarily to work. The labour market in Afghanistan has shrunk considerably and is hardly able to absorb the returnees. Without or with only a meager salary, access to housing, education and medical services is often difficult. In such circumstances, a person's local social network plays an important role. Persecution or other abuses by the Taliban interim authorities are reported mainly in the case of a few risk groups, and even in their case not systematically: former senior officials and politicians, former security forces, human rights activists. Women and girls who return to Afghanistan mostly lose access to education and employment opportunities.