Social Sciences

A Critical Review of Iran's Immigration Policies Towards Afghans: Providing an Alternative path

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Saideh Saidi

Assistant Professor in Anthropology Institute for Social and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22054/qjss.2026.90437.2948
Abstract
The main research question is the critical analysis of the policy-making of Iran towards Afghan nationals. This research is multidimensional and has been conducted in a qualitative paradigm. The data and information collection method has been a combination of documentary sources, interviews with experts, holding expert panels, expert meetings and obtaining the views of relevant agencies and institutions. Despite facing extensive international sanctions, Iran has been hosting one of the largest migrant populations in the world for nearly five decades. The first step in policy-making is to explain the problem. The long-term presence of Afghan nationals in Iran has overshadowed various aspects of society and has caused numerous challenges and opportunities in the political, cultural, social, security and economic spheres, and it seems that the lack of coherent and forward-looking policymaking in this area can create serious risks.
This study, while explaining the various aspects of the migration of Afghan nationals to Iran, presents a 7-stage conceptual model of migration governance as the foundation of policymaking in this area, which includes the pre-migration stage, transit, border management, entry and identification, integration, expulsion and reintegration.

Keywords

Migration
Afghanistan
Governance
Future studies
Iran
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