Several thousand Saudi-bound Bangladeshi migrant workers have been struggling due to the new travel advisory given by Saudi Arabia, which requires medical insurance, covering the risk of Covid-19 infections and hotel reservations for institutional quarantine.

The Saudi authorities said violators shall be deported and banned indefinitely from entering the Middle Eastern country.

Speaking to The Daily Star yesterday at the Saudia (Saudi airlines) office in the capital's Karwanbazar, Saudi-bound workers said they need to spend around Tk 65,000 to Tk 70,000 to comply with the new conditions.

Following the fresh travel regulations that came into effect from May 20, Biman Bangladesh Airlines was forced to suspend all its international flights to Saudi Arabia for five days till May 24, saying they need time to make arrangements in line with the fresh advisory.

Several thousand workers, who failed to travel to Saudi Arabia due to the suspension of Biman flights, said they are fearing that visas would expire if they fail to return to their workplaces on time.

The fresh suspension of flights will create an uncertainty over several thousand Bangladesh workers' return to Saudi Arabia, said sources at the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) and the Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB).

Biman currently operates flights to three destinations in Saudi Arabia -- Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah.

The airline operates 18 flights a week to these destinations.

THE TRAVEL ADVISORY

As per the Saudi Arabia General Authority Civil Aviation (GACA) circular, the Saudi government requires those who intend to travel to the gulf country from non-restricted countries should have medical insurance that covers the risk of Covid-19 and still be in institutional quarantine.

According to the new advisory, all travellers must obtain medical insurance to cover their treatment for Covid-19.

"The insurance should cover the cost of treatment in any outpatient clinic, emergencies and hospitals, including institutional quarantine for a period of up to 14 days," it says.

Saudi citizens and their accompanies are exempted from institutional quarantine if they have been fully vaccinated or passed 14 days after taking the first dose, or recovered from Covid-19. Otherwise, they have to complete a seven-day home quarantine.

The exemption also applies to passengers who have passed 14 days after receiving two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, two doses of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine or two doses of the Moderna vaccine and one dose of the Johnson&Johnson vaccine and possess a vaccination certificate. The vaccination certificate must be certified by the health authorities from the country of vaccination.

Saudi Arabia also demanded that the airline submit a passenger list to the country's authorities four days before departure.

SUFFERINGS & UNCERTAINTY

Harun Mia, a Saudi-bound worker, told this correspondent that he came to Dhaka Airport on Friday to catch his flight scheduled in the evening.

"After knowing that I need to book a hotel for institutional quarantine, I rushed to the Saudia office. There, I found several hundred others waiting to resolve the same problem," he added.

Another migrant worker Anisur Rahman said Saudi officials did not cooperate properly for them to resolve their problems regarding the new travel advisory.

"My visa will expire on May 24 [tomorrow]. I will be not be able to return to my work place if I fail to go there before the expiry," said Kabir Sheikh.

Liton Mia, a sibling of migrant worker Abul Kalam, said his brother had to pay about Tk 65,600 to book a hotel for seven days of institutional quarantine upon entry to the Gulf country.

The booking money was paid to the respective airlines that arranged the quarantine facility. Kalam's company already paid the airfare, Liton told this newspaper by phone.

Mahfuzul Haque, secretary general of the Recruiting Agencies Welfare Association of Bangladesh (Rawab), said the Saudi government's latest health advisory will create new challenges as it will increase the cost in sending Bangladeshi migrant workers to the Gulf country.

He said some tour and travel agencies in Bangladesh have been charging between 1,000 riyal (Saudi currency) and 2,000 riyal to just arrange seven days of institutional quarantine in Saudi Arabia.

Besides, airfare for the Gulf country has already increased amid the pandemic and reached to more than Tk 70,000 per ticket, while quarantine facilities and tickets were not even available at present.

Mahfuzul said many Bangladeshi migrant workers were not able to get both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine and this was another major area of concern.

Around 50,000 employment visas of Saudi Arabia are currently pending at different stages, said the Rawab leader.

WHATS BIMAN SAYS

A top Biman official said we have informed our concerned offices about the conditions given to us by the Saudi government.

"Our officials there are trying to manage the hotels [for quarantine] … We are trying to figure out how to book these hotels at a low cost, which will take some time. Apart from this, there is a condition to give the passenger list four days before departure. That is also a reason for temporarily suspending flights to Saudi Arabia," he added.

Saudi Arabia is the largest expatriate income market for Bangladesh. At least 26 lakh expatriates are working in different sectors in the country.