PH to host ‘limited number’ of Afghans awaiting US visa

MANILA, Philippines — As requested by Washington, the Philippine government has agreed to accept and host for a “limited period” Afghan citizens who have fled Taliban rule and are being processed for eventual settlement in the United States.

Under the arrangement, the Afghans may stay in the country for no more than 59 days and will be confined within a billet facility in an undisclosed location, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday.

The DFA said each refugee entering the country under the deal would be subject to “full security vetting by Philippine authorities” and be required to secure the appropriate entry visa before arrival.

READ: PH still studying US request to become ‘processing center’ for Afghans

“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 in a statement.

“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,” the DFA added.

The agreement was reached in response to a long-standing request from Washington for Manila to house Afghans who are waiting for their special immigrant visa (SIV) that would grant them entry to the United States.

For Marcos ratification

“The US Government, together with the International Organization for Migration as facility manager, will ensure that the applicants, especially the children, will have adequate social, educational, religious and emotional support during their stay in the billet facility,” the DFA added.

The DFA said the agreement would first have to be ratified by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before it can take effect.

READ: PH-US pact on hosting Afghan refugees needs Marcos OK first – DFA

It gave no timetable or the number of visa applicants to be allowed to transit through the Philippines, a long-standing US military ally.

But the department said Washington would shoulder the living expenses of the Afghans—for food, housing, security, medical and transportation, among others—while they are in the country.

According to the US Embassy in Manila, the SIV applicants will be temporarily housed at a Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (Care) facility in the Philippines.

Security concerns

The US request met with domestic opposition on security and other grounds when it was made public last year.

The country’s ambassador to Washington, Jose Manuel Romualdez, said last year that there were about 50,000 such visa seekers, including the families of those who had worked for the US-backed government that was toppled by the Taliban.

Quoting an unnamed US official, a report in The Washington Post on Monday said about 300 Afghan nationals would be brought into the Philippines under the agreement.

“US officials anticipate that the program could be extended and possibly expanded after the initial few hundred Afghans move through the Philippines, effectively turning the island nation into another temporary “way station” for Afghans as they await resettlement in the United States,” the report added.

Chaotic evacuation

Tens of thousands of Afghans fled their country in the chaotic evacuation of August 2021 as US and allied forces pulled out to end Washington’s longest war, launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Many of those who had worked with the ousted Western-backed government arrived in the United States seeking resettlement under a special immigrant visa program but thousands were also left behind or in third countries, waiting for their visas to be processed.

Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers insist no harm will come to anyone who collaborated with Western powers or the former government, and are encouraging those who have left to return and help rebuild the country. —With a report from Agence France-Presse