Philippines Agrees to Host Afghan Refugees Applying for US Visas

Afghan refugees rest in tents at a makeshift shelter camp in Chaman, a Pakistani town at the border with Afghanistan, on Aug. 31, 2021. AFP via Getty Images

The Philippines has agreed to a U.S. request to temporarily host “a limited number” of Afghan nationals being processed for resettlement in the United States, the State Department said on Monday.

The two treaty allies have reached a deal to allow Afghans to transit through the Philippines while completing their special immigrant visas to the United States, the department said.

Under the agreement, the U.S. government will temporarily provide “necessary services” for Afghans staying in the country, including food, housing, security, medical, and transportation.

“The United States appreciates its long and positive history of bilateral cooperation with the Philippines and thanks the Philippine government for supporting Afghan allies of the United States,” the State Department said in a statement.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs has also confirmed the agreement and said it is currently undergoing the “final domestic procedures” required to ensure its effectiveness.

Neither side provided further details on the agreement, such as the number of Afghan nationals allowed to remain in the Philippines and the duration of their stay.

The Philippine government said last June that it evaluated the request after President Joe Biden raised the proposal to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during a meeting in Washington.

Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez said at the time that Afghans would be subjected to a vetting process and sent back to their country if their entry application is denied, according to a government-run news agency.

Washington first made the request to Manila in 2022, but Marcos told reporters in June 2023 that the U.S. proposal raised “many security issues.” He said there were “difficult legal and logistical issues” but did not elaborate, according to local media Benar News.

“They are Afghans who are being resettled primarily in the United States, and we are going to be the third country; that is the proposal by the Americans,” Marcos added.

Tens of thousands of Afghans fled their country in August 2021 when the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there were 6.4 million Afghan refugees reported globally last year.

Special immigrant visas are available for Afghan nationals who “meet certain requirements,” worked for the U.S. government in Afghanistan, or are deemed eligible for resettlement in the United States, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The agreement signals the deepening ties between the United States and the Philippines under the Marcos administration. Last year, the two countries struck a deal to expand U.S. forces’ access to military bases in the Philippines under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.