According to the Public Relations Department of Interior Ministry, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli during the meeting of the Committee for Organizing Foreign Nationals he stressed that the information of legal aliens should be collected and updated regularly throughout the year.
He said, "Even though Islamic Republic of Iran has done a lot to help foreign nationals and refugees within the United Nations programs, the United Nations' assistance has remained negligible. Therefore, it is imperative that it must increase its assistance and cooperation to help Afghans return to their country.”
Also speaking at the committee, the Managing Director of Iranian Interior Ministry's Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants (BAFIA), Ahmad Mohammadi-Far submitted his report on recent actions and services to foreign refugees in Iran. He said that 2.5 million foreign nationals residing illegally in Iran were identified and repatriated in the past four years, including 630,000 illegal foreign nationals in the current Iranian year [started March 21, 2017].
He added that identity cards have been issued for about 97% of legal aliens in Iran. The cards are valid for one year.
Other steps include providing medical insurance to 229,000 refugees, facilitating education of 172,000 illegal foreign students residing in Iran in the past three years, as per the instruction by the Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
It has also been arranged that the Iranian Foreign Ministry would take appropriate steps to facilitate issuing visas to the foreign nationals who enter Iran through border check points.
The committee also discussed organizing job market for the refugees and how the guilds, municipalities and employers can help in this regard.
Commander of Iran's Law Enforcement Police Brigadier General Hossein Ashtari, State Prosecutor General Hojjatoleslam Montazeri, Deputy Interior Minister and Head of International Affairs at the Ministry of Education, Deputy Foreign Minister for Iranian Expatriates Hossein Panahi-Azar, Deputy Interior Minister Hossein Zolfaqari, and representatives from the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Ministry of Intelligence, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, and Interior Ministry's Office for Foreign Nationals and Immigrants also participated in the meeting.
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