Afghanistan employment visas
All immigration to Afghanistan is controlled by the federal government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Healy Consultants’ fee for assisting with the visa process will be US$3,950. Please note while, the approval process for business visas is straightforward, obtaining approval may be difficult and can seem random at times.
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Entrepreneur visas
- Individuals wishing to be self-employed will initially apply for an entry visa and after the entering the country, apply for a resident visa. The entry visa will be issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while the resident visa will be issued by the Ministry of Interior;
- Documents to be submitted at the embassies or high commissions will include i) a valid passport ii) proof of Afghanistan company formation and iii) completed application form.
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Employment visa
- The visa application process for the employment visa is similar to that of the entrepreneur visa, with the additional need for the sponsoring Afghanistan company formation to contact the Ministry of Foreign affairs on behalf of the employee;
- The resident visa will be issued for 6 months, with the possibility of extension by the Ministry of Interior.
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Visitor Visa
- A visitor (tourist) visa will be issued for a 1 month only. However, there is a possibility of obtaining extension once after approval from the Ministry of Interior and the Afghan Tourism Organization;
- The visa application will be submitted to the Afghan missions abroad along with following documents i) a valid passport and ii) proof of financial standing to cover the trip.
Afghanistan multi-currency corporate bank accounts
Since 2003, Healy Consultants Group assists multi-national Clients with i) multi-currency corporate bank account opening in Afghanistan for an overseas entity and ii) international multi-currency corporate bank account opening for a Afghanistan LLC.
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Summary
- Within 8 weeks, Healy Consultants Group will secure a multi-currency corporate bank account approval with at least one Afghanistan bank. There is an 90% probability the bank signatory will have to travel.
- Local Afghanistan banks’ e-banking and telephone help lines are in English.
- Currency corporate bank accounts offered by Afghan banks include AFN, US$ and € and £.
- Minimum balance required for corporate accounts is US$300 (AFN 10,000).
- Of the 12 commercial banks operating in Afghanistan, the largest two are i) Azizi Bank and ii) Afghanistan International Bank. Foreign banks present in Afghanistan include i) National Bank of Pakistan and ii) Bank Alfalah.
- Healy Consultants Group’s fee for a guaranteed Afghanistan multi-currency corporate bank account for a standard low to medium risk company is US$5,950.
- Afghan banks are normally reluctant to open corporate accounts for local companies with foreign beneficial owners. To increase account opening success, we recommend our Client to keep the corporate structure simple;
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The security of the Afghanistan banking sector
- Afghanistan is not part of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) global information exchange system, and is therefore attractive to multi-national businessmen.
- Afghanistan’s banking sector assets represent 21% of the country’s GDP in 2018.
- Overall, Afghanistan’s banking sector remains underdeveloped and vulnerable as it copes with systemic challenges uncovered by the collapse of Kabul Bank in 2010.
- Both residents and non-residents in Afghanistan can open bank accounts in foreign currencies such as EUR, USD and GBP.
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Other considerations
- The corporate account opening process for non-resident companies will most likely require the bank signatory to travel to Afghanistan to complete account opening.
- There is a small possibility that Afghan banks will request all C-level officials to be present at the bank with their original identification to complete bank account opening.
- When feasible, we recommend our foreign Clients open their Afghanistan corporate accounts with a bank with which they already operate around the globe, to reduce compliance background checks and potentially avoid the need for personal travel.
- Afghanistan banks offer joint account and joint venture account facilities.
- To facilitate the opening of a high-quality corporate account on our Client’s behalf, Healy Consultants’ corporate banking manager will project manage these steps.
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Healy Consultants Group fees & services
- For a fee of US$5,950, and without bank signatory travel, Healy Consultants Group will secure a multi-currency corporate bank account for a standard low- to medium-risk business.
- Our multi-currency corporate bank account opening fees cover the following services:
- Creation of a quality business plan for our Client’s business, explaining the purpose of the business and future banking transactions, in a format suitable to Afghan banks.
- Negotiation with numerous Afghan banks to secure welcome emails from those interested in receiving a multi-currency corporate bank account application from our Client.
- Preparation and submission of high-quality multi-currency corporate bank account applications and collating bank requested Know Your Customer (KYC) due diligence documentation.
- Managing communication and aggressively following up with the banks to expediate securing our Client’s multi-currency corporate bank account numbers.
- Within eight weeks, Healy Consultants Group providing our Client with multi-currency corporate bank account numbers from their preferred Afghan bank.
- Internet banking to be provided to our Client within the following four weeks.