Afghanistan issues 18.3M digital IDs as returnees face documentation barriers

Afghanistan continues to expand issuance of electronic national identity cards as millions of Afghans return from Pakistan and Iran without the documentation needed to access basic services.

A report from France 24 says that, “out of 6.1 million Afghan returnees who have arrived from Pakistan and Iran since September 2023, more than 86 percent are listed as undocumented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).” According to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), over 2 million Afghans returned from neighbouring countries in 2025 alone.

The influx has further complicated matters in a country that already has an estimated 3.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), and is feeling the effect of cuts to global aid.

The national ID card, known as the Tazkira, is required to access essential services like healthcare, education and employment. It is also essential for proving ownership of land or a home, claiming inheritance, accessing state benefits, and navigating checkpoints.

Those without a Tazkira can face exclusion from essential services, employment and property rights.

Cost and access leave returnees without ID

According to numbers from Afghanistan’s General Directorate of Statistics and Information, cited by DID Press, nearly 18.3 million citizens have received electronic national identity cards since distribution began in May 2018. The first six months of 2026 saw 827,060 electronic ID cards distributed  – 600,546 to men and 226,514 to women.

Electronic ID services are currently provided through 87 distribution centers across Afghanistan, as well as at an Asan-Khedmat center in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Nonetheless, accessibility, low awareness and cost (500 Afghanis, or about $7.80 per card) all remain obstacles for many Afghan citizens. The NRC report notes that acquiring an e-Tazkira often requires “returning to one’s birthplace or family homeland, which many displaced persons cannot afford or safely undertake.”

These barriers to access are creating a growing documentation gap and hampering reintegration efforts for returnees.

France 24 quotes Ziad Salih, regional coordinator at IOM, who says arriving in Afghanistan without a valid ID document puts one at risk of “administrative and social exclusion.” Unsurprisingly, “women and girls encounter additional barriers, such as the requirement for a male guardian’s authorization and constraints on mobility, deepening their vulnerability and exclusion.”

The situation is described with more pathos by an unnamed male NRC staff member , who says “this is not just a service gap; it’s a pressing issue of access and equity that must be urgently addressed.”

Article Topics

Afghanistan  |  e-ID  |  e-Tazkira  |  government services  |  identity document