MEC Vulnerability to Corruption Assessment of the International Work Permit Process. Afghanistan, 2016

The inability of the Afghanistan Government to effectively control the issuance of work permits to foreign citizens has not only led to this employment disparity, but the uncollected fees associated with issuance of permits results in a loss of revenue to the government. Recently there have been reforms to the process, which have had limited effectiveness in the fight against corruption. However, this VCA shows that these changes need to be reinforced and made more efficient. The laws and regulations related to IWPs, the structure of current government institutions and their inadequate human resources, and process itself all have deficiencies which are in need of serious reform Findings of the VCA Team show that government entities have serious challenges regarding enforcement, especially the Labor Law and Internationals Travel and Residence Law, and regulations such as International’s Employment Regulation, international’s work permit preparation and issuance procedure related to the process and implementing it on the employing agency. Deficiencies in the law, such as a lack of provisions for the punishments, have prohibited IWP authorities from taking required actions against violators. The inconsistency in the current structure with the reformed process and dependency of contract employees in the current organizational structure also shows vulnerabilities and a need for sustained permanent staff support.