Applicants for Turkish visas in Kabul are complaining about widespread corruption and chaos at the country's visa service center. According to them, the center has turned into a source of "black business," where a single visa can cost around eight thousand dollars.
According to a report by Zawia News, applicants say the center was previously shut down by the Taliban's Ministry of Justice due to severe corruption and disorder. However, since its reopening, the problems have not only persisted but have worsened.
A major issue is that the visa center is not accepting previously translated documents. Applicants are being forced to have their documents re-translated at a newly opened translation center in the Qala-e-Fathullah area of Kabul, imposing additional costs.
Furthermore, the fee for medical examinations, which was previously 1,000 Afghanis, has now increased to 2,750 Afghanis. This sudden and significant price hike has doubled the financial pressure on applicants, many of whom are seeking to travel to Turkey for work or medical treatment.
According to one applicant, considering all these extra and unofficial costs, the final price for obtaining a Turkish visa amounts to about eight thousand US dollars, which is a huge sum for most Afghan citizens.
Since the Taliban takeover, the Turkish embassy is one of the few active diplomatic missions in Kabul that provides visa services. The high demand for its visas has created opportunities for abuse and corruption in the contracted visa service companies. So far, neither the Turkish embassy nor Taliban officials have officially responded to these complaints.
Source: Zawia News
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