Undocumented Bangladeshis: Saudi to issue exit permits

Bangladeshi migrants without residence permit who are employed by Saudi Arabian companies will get an opportunity to return under an initiative taken by the Gulf country recently.

Those who have been flagged as absconding or employed as house-keeper or chauffeur are not eligible for the opportunity, officials said.

As per the initiative, a migrant, who doesn’t have work permit or whose document had expired over a month ago, will have to apply to Saudi labour court for an exit visa.

The application will have to be submitted through Bangladesh mission in Riyadh, according to officials.

Similar opportunities are being given to workers by Bangladesh Consulate General’s labour welfare wing in Jeddah, said an expatriates’ welfare ministry official.

The workers will have to return home within 15 days of obtaining the visa, according to a notice issued by the mission.

Meanwhile, another notice addressed to Bangladeshis living in Riyadh said on Tuesday that they can avail the opportunity without having to pay any fees.

The mission issued the notices after receiving a directive from the Saudi authorities. Workers from other countries will also have opportunities to return to their homes, officials said.

Mohammad Ashaduzzaman, first secretary at Riyadh labour welfare wing, said they had been receiving applications since December 22.

“The process will continue until further notice,” he told this correspondent over phone.

About 1,000 workers have already applied for the opportunity, said a top official at the expatriates’ welfare ministry.

Throughout last year, Saudi Arabia deported thousands of undocumented Bangladeshi migrant workers after detaining them on various grounds.

Until mid-November, some 22,000 workers were deported by the Gulf country, according to Brac Migration Programme.

Many of them did not have the residency permission, locally known as iqama.

The notices were also posted on the Facebook page of Bangladesh mission in Riyadh.

A Facebook user named Khondokar Faisal commented that he had been in Saudi Arabia for five months but had not received his iqama yet.

“I live in Dammam Al Jubail and I don’t know where my kafil [sponsor] is,” he wrote.

Faisal also expressed his desire to return home.

Seeking anonymity, an official at the expatriates’ welfare ministry said when a migrant worker fails to obtain iqama they become illegal and faces the risks of legal action.

It is the responsibility of Saudi employers to arrange iqama for foreign workers and renew it every year, he said.

The employer has to pay a certain amount of money in fees to the authorities for the iqama, he added.

However, in 5 to 10 percent of the cases, employers refuse to pay the money or renew their employees’ iqama, he said, adding that in such circumstances it falls upon the Saudi authorities to hold the employer accountable.

Besides, there are migrant workers whose iqama expired months ago, but they somehow continued working, he said.

In such a situation, the repatriation initiative will be an easier option for those undocumented workers, he added.

There will be no bar on their re-entry to the Gulf country after they have returned to Bangladesh, he added.

Around 2 million Bangladeshi nationals live in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at present, according to Bangladesh mission.

Contacted over phone, Ahmed Munirus Saleheen, additional secretary at the expatriates’ welfare ministry, said the ministry was aware of the repatriation initiative.