No Legal Papers? No Problem: All Kids Can Go to School Here

The government of Iran has made some reforms to make sure all migrant children, legal and undocumented ones alike, can attend school and thus have access to a proper education.

“We have introduced a new regulation for those holding valid documents, as well as unauthorized [foreign] nationals,” says Mehdi Mahmoudi, director general of the Iranian Interior Ministry’s Bureau for Foreign Nationals and Immigrants Affairs. “This means no more school age children shall be deprived of education.”

Iran spends eight billion dollars every year on sectors dedicated to migrants, mainly Afghans. About three million Afghan citizens live in Iran, and between 1.5 and 2 million are still undocumented. Last school year, Iran offered free education to 560 thousand foreign students, the majority being from Afghanistan.