Iranian MP: “From Now On, We Will Not Have Permanent Residence for Foreigners”

The Commission of Internal Affairs and Councils of the Islamic Council of Iran has said that based on the plan for the organization of foreigners, there will be no such thing as permanent residence of foreign citizens in Iran, rather, they will receive one-year, three-year and possibly seven-year temporary residence in that country.

Waliullah Bayati emphasized the need to clarify the task of organizing the plan for foreigners as soon as possible and said: “Today, many concerns from the people regarding the citizens of foreign countries are being transferred to the parliamentarians and there are many legal loopholes regarding these people.”

The spokesperson of the Commission of Internal Affairs and Islamic Councils of the Islamic Council of Iran stated that the plan to organize foreigners and the statutes of the National Migration Organization are on the agenda of this commission, adding that the plan to establish the National Migration Organization with the presence of experts from the Research Center of the Parliament, the Government, and the Ministry of Interior, IRGC intelligence and information department is under review in the country’s internal affairs commission and parliament councils, and so far more than 20 paragraphs have been approved. In this plan, we anticipated and resolved the legal loopholes; For example, according to the commission’s resolution, a coordination council headed by the interior minister is to be formed, with nine ministers as members. This council is responsible for policy making and planning. Also, a group as a coordination commission will be formed next to this council.

This Iranian parliament member told some details of the mentioned plan: “Based on this plan, we give immigrants who enter the country, after scanning the eyes, a card that provides all the services they need with this card. It is not a forgery and the immigrant must carry it with him until he leaves the country. Also, based on the decision of the commission members, we have seen the category of residence as temporary because we are not looking for citizens who are present in the country to be deposited and increase their durability. According to the mentioned plan, we no longer have anything as permanent residence for foreigners in Iran, but three types of temporary residence including one year, three years and possibly seven years are foreseen for them, and the people need to stay in the country and work as a labor force have to be guaranteed by the employer. Among the other issues mentioned in the plan for organizing foreign nationals is their division into three groups: workers, investors or students.

Mr. Bayati also emphasized that the following plan includes the nationals of all foreign countries residing in Iran and determines the duty of all foreign nationals, because citizens of other countries should not be allowed to enter Iran illegally and if they do this, they should be severely punished.

Regarding the existence of a ban on the residence of foreign nationals in some provinces and cities of Iran, Bayati stated: “This issue is mentioned under the title of territorial planning in the said plan, considering that it is possible for a group of foreign nationals to study and another group to work. We have to determine in which cities foreign students can be present and in which cities the labor forces; this territorial arrangement is seen in the law and is entrusted to the provincial coordination council.

Recently, Iran has expelled hundreds of thousands of Afghan immigrants from that country by applying extensive restrictions, and this process is still going on with more force than before.

Despite the widespread criticism of the violation of the human rights of Afghan refugees, the Iranian government has imposed extensive strictures, including banning the sale of bread to immigrants, banning work and employment, and preventing the admission of Afghan students to schools, has placed putting Afghan refugees and displaced persons in a more difficult situation than in the past.