Proof of Registration (PoR) cards are important identity documents that provide temporary legal stay and freedom of movement for the 1.42 million registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan. The validity of PoR cards was extended until 30 June 2020 through an official Government of Pakistan notification.
By the end of 2019, 1,416,078 Afghan refugees had a valid PoR cards. The four PoR Card Modification Centres (PCM),located in Peshawar, Quetta, Karachi, and Rawalpindi, and the three mobile registration vans (MRVs) deployed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan and Punjab, continued to support the modification/replacement of existing cards; the registration of new born children up to the age of five; the issuance of birth certificates; and the provision of PoR cards to already-registered children who have reached five years of age and were entitled to their own cards.
In 2019, UNHCR observed a slight increase (8%) in 2019 compared to 2018 in the number of applicants seeking PCM centre services, largely attributed to the introduction of new policy for the collection of modified cards, which requires PoR card holders who wish to modify their cards 13 months to collect their previous cards from respective PCM centers. If they fail to collect their modified PoR cards within the given timeframe, their cards are withdrawn and their cases deregistered from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) database, leading to loss of refugee status.
In 2019, a total of 54,872 applicants (50% male; 50% female) were processed at PCMs and MRVs which shows a 99% achievement against the overall target (of 55,500). During the year, 22,093 children were registered; 20,041 PoR cards were issued for children turning five and around 8,410 lost or stolen cards were replaced.
1,712 individuals were issued with a UNHCR refugee identity cards (1,666 of which were renewed) and 5,831 individuals were issued with asylum-seeker certificates (2,553 of which were renewed). Following UNHCR advocacy efforts, the Government of Pakistan’s landmark decision in February 2019 to allow POR card holders to open bank accounts paved the way for greater economic and financial inclusion, providing them with access to a safer and more secure way to manage their finances. By the end of the year, close to 3,200 registered refugees had opened bank accounts in Pakistan.