Afghanistan - Welcoming people evacuated from Afghanistan to France (Evacuation flights on 25 August 2021)

The evacuation operations begun on 16 August are continuing.

A 10th and 11th flight, transporting nearly 350 people, including 27 French people and a large majority of Afghans, arrived at Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport last night and early this morning.

A 12th flight will arrive at Roissy late this evening with more than 270 people on board, mostly of Afghan nationality.

Since the operations began, more than 100 French people and over 2,000 Afghans will have reached French soil this evening.

The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Ministry for the Armed Forces, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry for Solidarity and Health are ensuring optimal conditions for welcoming the people as soon as they arrive in France. Medical-psychological and practical support is being offered straight away. Fast-track procedures have been put in place to issue visas to nationals of other countries, following the necessary checks and with a view to guaranteeing domestic security.

Regarding the health situation, the way the welcome is being organized is in keeping with health regulations in force in France:

• in the absence of a full course of vaccination, COVID-19 screening tests will automatically be carried out, and the people welcomed will have to comply with a 10-day quarantine period (Afghanistan is currently a red-list country);
• COVID-19 vaccinations will be offered.

Afghans who would like to remain in France in the long term will be supported in practical and administrative ways with their asylum applications. They will benefit from specialist support with their residence permit applications and integration processes.

In this regard, we should emphasize the active role being played – under the supervision of the Inter-ministerial Delegate for the Reception and Integration of Refugees (DIAIR) – by voluntary organizations funded by the State: in particular France Terre d’Asile, but also Adoma, Aurore, CeCler, Coallia, France Horizon, Habitat et Humanisme, Viltaïs, Forum Réfugiés and Groupe SOS, whether it be during this operation or during the many evacuations previously carried out (since May 2021, 623 local recruits, representing 152 families, have been evacuated to France, and between 2012 and 2019, 800 French-army auxiliaries, accompanied by family members, have been brought here).

The situation in Kabul is still complex. All the State services concerned and the French Embassy on the ground remain fully mobilized to ensure further flight rotations. Additional flights are expected to take place in the next few days.