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Ph allows temporary stay of Afghans in transit
By Nidz Godino
“Philippines and United States have agreed on allowing limited number of Afghan nationals to transit to Philippines to complete their visa processing for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) and resettlement to United States,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in statement Philippines has agreed to United States’ request to temporarily host limited number of Afghan nationals while their special immigration visas to the US are being processed.
Under Philippines-US SIV agreement, DFA said all Afghan SIV applicants “will be subject to full security vetting by Philippine authorities and should secure appropriate entry visa prior to arrival, in accordance with Philippine laws and regulations.”
Bureau of Immigration, however, retains full authority to exclude any applicant from entry into Philippines as result of standard immigration examination upon arrival in the country.
According to DFA, each applicant shall be authorized to stay in Philippines for no more than 59 days.
All costs for sustainment of Afghans while in the Philippines will be shouldered by US government. This includes expenses for food, housing, security, medical and transportation to complete visa processing.
Afghan nationals will be confined to their billet facility for duration of processing of their SIV applications by US embassy in Manila.
US government, with International Organization for Migration as facility manager, will ensure applicants, especially children, will have adequate social, educational, religious and emotional support during their stay in the billet facility.
US embassy said Afghan SIV applicants will temporarily reside at CARE (Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts) operated facility in the Philippines.
Afghans with visas approved by Philippine embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan will have been medically screened in Afghanistan before entering Philippines.
They need to leave their billet facility only once for their consular interview at US embassy.
“Agreement is currently undergoing final domestic procedures required for effectivity,” DFA said.
The embassy did not disclose some details like number of SIV applicants or place outside Manila where they will be billeted.
“For operational security purposes, we will not comment on capacity of platform or how many guests are in the Philippines at any given time, we are still discussing timelines and operational specifics with government of Philippines,” said US embassy spokesperson Kanishka Gangopadhyay.
Afghan nationals being considered for resettlement had worked for US government but were left behind when US forces withdrew from the country in August 2021, allowing Taliban to return to power.
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