Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Migration

This thematic category covers migration flows in and out of, and within Afghanistan, that is: Afghan migration to Europe; the situation for refugees in, and returnees from Pakistan and Iran and; internally displaced persons.

A Good Smuggler is Hard to Find: The evolution of Afghan smuggling networks in the Balkans

Jelena Bjelica • Fabrizio Foschini •

In the past decade, Afghans aged 14 to 23 have become the single largest group of migrants in the Western Balkans. More than 2.5 million people – a fifth of them Afghans – are estimated to have crossed through this region since 2015 on their way to Western Europe. Over that time, Afghan migrant-smuggling networks have […]

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Returning to Uncertainty: How Afghan returnees from Pakistan are struggling to rebuild their lives

Nur Khan Himmat • Jelena Bjelica •

Some six million Afghans have been forcibly returned from Iran and Pakistan since September 2023, almost half of them in 2025, making it one of the largest return movements of any nationality in recent decades. 2.26 million people returned from Pakistan, one million in 2025 alone, amid an intensifying deportation campaign launched in September 2023 […]

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Afghans in the UK: Uncertain times ahead 

Rachel Reid • Francesca Gilks •

Afghans in the UK who do not have permanent residency are facing years of insecurity and hardship amid a hardening of British immigration policy. Those who were granted refugee status within the last five years may face a lengthy wait before they get settled status under new policies proposed in November 2025 that are intended […]

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The Second Phase of Forced Returns from Pakistan: Afghans tell stories of hardship and misery

Nur Khan Himmat •

The Pakistani government officially began implementing the second phase of its Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan on 1 April 2025 by targeting undocumented Afghans and those holding Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC). To date, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), since 15 September 2023, when Pakistan launched the plan, over 1 million Afghans have returned […]

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From Welcoming Allies to Threats of Deportation: The changing status of Afghans in America

Jelena Bjelica •

Roughly 200,000 Afghans arrived in the US after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021. They mainly settled in California, Virginia, Washington DC, Pennsylvania and, the state which received the most Afghans, Texas. Many now face difficult times in what they thought was their new country after a series of orders by President Donald Trump’s administration […]

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Returning from Pakistan: How are Afghan returnees coping back in their homeland?

Jelena Bjelica • Ali Mohammad Sabawoon •

It is almost a year since, on 3 October 2023, Pakistan’s Prime Minister announced its decision to enact the Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan. Since then, more than 700,000 Afghans have returned to their homeland. These returns were not voluntary. Some Afghans were deported, while others fled in fear of arrest and expulsion. Some, born in […]

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Sending Money Home: The impact of remittances on workers, families and villages

Sabawoon Samim •

For a country where jobs are scarce and, for many, livelihoods unreliable, sending men from the family abroad to work is an option tried by many families. Remittances, the money those workers send home, are hugely important for the national economy, individual families and communities. In this report, guest author Sabawoon Samim delves into the […]

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Keep on Moving on the Balkan Route: No quarter for Afghan asylum seekers in Croatia and Serbia

Fabrizio Foschini •

The number of Afghan refugees moving along the Balkan Route has remained very high this summer. A large proportion of those taking the long trip to central, western and northern Europe are in their early twenties and many are under-age. From Turkey, they usually cross Greece and Bulgaria in order to reach Serbia. Once there, […]

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Construction site in Kucuksu, seen from Yenimahalle, Instanbul. Photo: Fabrizio Foschini

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: No good options for Afghans travelling to and from Turkey

Fabrizio Foschini •

The economic crisis and the country’s hardening stance towards irregular migrants are making Turkey a less hospitable destination for Afghans fleeing persecution or searching for livelihood opportunities abroad. In the first part of this report, Fabrizio Foschini looked at trends in Afghan migration to and through Turkey and how migrants have faced increased bureaucratic obstacles […]

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Refugees or Ghosts? Afghans in Turkey face growing uncertainty  

Fabrizio Foschini •

The number of Afghans in Turkey has been steadily growing, with those already settled or in transit to Europe joined by thousands more fleeing Afghanistan following the Taleban takeover in August 2021. Turkey already had the world’s largest refugee population, and the new arrivals, coming in the midst an unprecedented economic crisis, has only heated […]

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Afghan Exodus: Migrants in Turkey left to fend for themselves

Christine Roehrs • Khadija Hossaini •

For Afghans seeking refuge or a new life in Europe, Turkey used to be a major migration transit hub. With routes through Turkey largely shut down after a refugee pact with the European Union in 2016, the country is now permanently hosting millions of refugees and migrants – among them possibly hundreds of thousands of […]

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Main informal camp after the storm on 17 July 2018 in Velika Kladusa, a town in northwest Bosnia. Photo: Elizabeth Wait, 2018.

Killing Time in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Afghan migrants try a new route into the EU

Elizabeth Wait •

Since January, around 800 Afghans have arrived in the non-EU country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in an attempt to find a new route into the European Union. They are mainly camping out in dilapidated buildings and makeshift structures in the towns of Bihać and Velika Kladuša, both near to the north-western border with EU member […]

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