Undocumented refugees who wish to leave Pakistan will be charged an $830 exit fee, according to recent confirmation from the country. The fee applies to those who arrived without a visa, including the 1.7 million undocumented foreigners that Pakistan announced it would deport if they did not leave by 1 November. Most of these individuals are Afghans, many of whom fled Afghanistan when the Taliban regained power earlier this year. Those with expired visas will be charged based on the length of their overstay. However, the exit fee does not apply to those travelling back to Afghanistan. Amnesty International has reported that many Afghans in Pakistan have faced delays in obtaining documentation. Pakistan is not a party to the Refugee Convention and does not recognize any Afghans living within its borders as refugees. A senior diplomat in Pakistan expressed concern that the fee is being applied to people being relocated on humanitarian grounds, which sets a bad precedent. The UNHCR is advocating for refugees to be exempt from the fee, and the Pakistani government has not yet indicated whether it will review the policy.
