Afghan Tazkira
TypeNational identity card
Issued by Afghanistan
PurposeIdentification
EligibilityNational of Afghanistan

The Afghan Tazkira (Pashto: تذکره) is an official national identity document issued to every national and citizen of Afghanistan, including a member of the Afghan diaspora around the world.[1][2][3][4] The document is used to obtain an electronic Afghan identity card or e-Tazkira, which is valid for up to 10 years and required for many things such as employment, registering in school, operating a business, buying or renting a house, opening a bank account, sending or receiving money through Western Union, purchasing a SIM card, obtaining a passport, booking airline tickets, staying in hotels, etc. The documents serve as proof of identity and residency but more importantly Afghan nationality. Both the paper Tazkira and e-Tazkira are issued by the National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA), which has offices in all provinces of Afghanistan.[5][6][7][8][9]

The Afghan Tazkira, which is older than 100 years,[10] has been modernized in recent years. The e-Tazkira campaign was officially launched in Kabul in May of 2018 when then-President Ashraf Ghani and First Lady Rula Ghani received their smart cards. Distribution of the modern Tazkiras later began in other parts of Afghanistan. The e-Tazkira complies with international standards for identity documents.[11] As of August 2023, over ten million people of Afghanistan have obtained their Tazkiras.[12][13] This includes the Afghans that are temporarily residing in Iran and in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).[3][5] The Afghans temporarily residing in Pakistan are issued special documents by Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.[14]

Procedure

In order to obtain the new Tazkira, an application must be submitted in person inside the office of the NSIA[15] or electronically using the internet.[5] The processing fee is 300 Afghanis (Afs) inside Afghanistan,[16] but €10 euros in Europe and $10 in America.[17] The paper Tazkira and e-Tazkira are both issued by the NSIA.[18] Evidence that the applicant is in fact a national and citizen of Afghanistan is required.[4] This can be proven by providing older Afghan Tazkira along with family and relatives appearing as witnesses. Applicants below 18 years old must be accompanied by their parents or legal guardians before the application can be processed.[19]

Characteristics of e-Tazkira

The e-Tazkira is a polycarbonate smart card and rectangular in shape, about 86 × 54 millimeters in size.[20] On one side is a gold-plated contact chip, and on the right-hand side is the small photograph of the bearer, personal information is available in English on the same side. On the top of the card on both sides, the name Afghanistan is written in three languages, Pashto, Dari and English.[10] In May 2022, the Afghan government announced plans to issue Tazkiras with a new design bearing the emblem of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.[21]

Printed data

The descriptions of the fields are printed in Pashto, Dari and English.[10]

A machine readable zone is printed on the bottom of the back-side of the card.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Afghanistan: Tazkera, passports and other ID documents" (PDF). Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre. May 22, 2019. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  2. ^ "Women's access to identification cards can accelerate development in Afghanistan". blogs.worldbank.org. October 5, 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
  3. ^ a b "Opening the 6th E-Tazkira (eNID) Centers in Kerman City of Iran". National Statistic and Information Authority (NSIA). January 21, 2021.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ a b "ENIC process at a snail's pace: Balkh residents". Pajhwok Afghan News. July 25, 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  5. ^ a b c "NSIA Processed More than 5 Million E-Tazkira Applications". National Statistic and Information Authority (NSIA). June 21, 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  6. ^ "Violence affects e-ID cards distribution in Kandahar". Pajhwok Afghan News. August 9, 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  7. ^ "Ghazni residents blast long lasting CNIC process". Pajhwok Afghan News. December 15, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  8. ^ "Farah begins issuing electronic ID cards to residents". Pajhwok Afghan News. September 19, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  9. ^ "Paktia residents want CNIC process accelerated". Pajhwok Afghan News. August 4, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  10. ^ a b c "Deputy Director General Office for Civil Registration". National Statistic and Information Authority (NSIA). Retrieved 2023-08-07.
  11. ^ "Distribution of e-ID cards to start on May 3, 2018". TOLOnews. May 3, 2018. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  12. ^ "2.5 Million Electronic IDs Issued Last Year: NSIA". TOLOnews. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
  13. ^ "Over 2.5m electronic ID cards distributed last year". Pajhwok Afghan News. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
  14. ^ "Government delivered first new Proof of Registration smartcards to Afghan refugees". Unhcr Pakistan. May 25, 2021. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
  15. ^ "Absentee Tazkira".
  16. ^ "Increased Cost of Electronic IDs Raises Concerns". TOLOnews. November 20, 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
  17. ^ "Absentee Tazkira – Embassy of Afghanistan".
  18. ^ "TAZKIRA SERVICES (Afghan National ID)".
  19. ^ "mfa.gov.af". Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  20. ^ "Kabultimes". Archived from the original on 2018-05-06.
  21. ^ "Deputy prime minister hosts meeting in Kabul". Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  22. ^ "mcit.gov.af". Archived from the original on May 7, 2018.

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