that they are an Afghan national. In situations where they cannot complete this process, a commission consisting of authorized representatives shall assess the application and decide.22 Although the embassy and consulates of Afghanistan in Iran facilitate the process of obtaining tazkera for those who have a father, brother, paternal grandfather or paternal uncle with tazkera, others have to return to their family’s place of residence, or to Kabul, to apply for tazkera.23 Refugee Status Determination (RSD) has not been practiced since 2005 and only those whose refugee status were determined prior to this, can renew their refugee card (Amayesh) every year, and only children of documented parents will receive documentation in Iran.24 24. Inter-generational lack of documentation, regarding both cases of registration in Iran and Afghan civil registration, as well as weakening ties to the “country of origin” over the course the past four decades are the main barriers to providing proof of Afghan citizenship for children of Iranian mothers and undocumented Afghan fathers. If the first generation who had stronger ties with Afghanistan did not obtain documentation there, the second and third generations cannot easily prove their ties to the country. In cases where the father is unknown, not available or has abandoned the family, and family ties are weak, proving Afghan nationality can be difficult, if not impossible, for the children. Additionally, access and travel to the embassy and consulates of Afghanistan is limited for undocumented Afghans who are at risk of deportation due to their unregistered status while travelling. Considering the one year eligibility period of applying for Iranian citizenship for children born to an Iranian mother and foreign national fathers and lack of awareness about the procedure and financial and administrative barriers to provide the required documents for the application, many children born to these marriages do not apply in practice. Baluchi population in the Sistan and Baluchistan Provinces 25. The Sistan and Baluchistan provinces located in the south-east of the country has borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan and is predominantly inhabited by ethnic and religious minority Baluch populations. Since 2007 when the province was declared a No-Go Area for Afghans, all registered Afghan residents were either relocated or repatriated to Afghanistan. Only those registered Afghans married to Iranian women were given permission to stay. Due 22 Access to Tazkera and other Civil Documentation in Afghanistan, 2016, NRC, https://www.nrc.no/resources/reports/access-to-tazkera-and-other-civil-documentation-in-afghanistan/ [Accessed March 09, 2019]. 23 Embassy of Afghanistan in Iran: Processes of obtaining civil documentation: http://www.afghanembassy.ir/conditions-for-obtaining-and-verification-of-documents-consular.html [Accessed March 09, 2019]. 24 Two regularization plans were conducted to register the irregular Afghan migrants in Iran in 2011 and 2017, however, the latter only targeted the undocumented/unregistered family members of registered Afghans in Iran (either Amayesh or visa holders). The former regularization plan led to the issuance of temporary residence visa to about half a million Afghan, who could obtain passport, for which having tazkera is a requirement. 7