Saudi decision puts 500 job seekers in trouble

Saudi Arabia yesterday suddenly stopped accepting handwritten passports from the Bangladeshi workers seeking to go to the Kingdom with jobs.
“Saudi embassy in Dhaka put up a notice saying it has instructions from its foreign ministry of not accepting handwritten passports, but machine readable ones,” Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira) Secretary General Ali Haider Chowdhury told The Daily Star yesterday.
Following complaints from workers and recruiting agencies, Baira immediately wrote letters to the ministries of foreign affairs and expatriates' welfare and overseas employment.
There would be around 500 workers who have already completed all other formalities for the visas against their employments in Saudi Arabia, but now as the Saudi embassy is asking for machine readable passports (MRPs), these jobseekers could be in real trouble, said Ali Haider.
If Saudi government would serve a notice at least a month ago, there would be no problem at all, he said, adding that the handwritten passport holders could lose jobs if they are to secure MRPs that could take some time. It is because by this time, dates of many visas could expire, he noted.
Expatriates' welfare secretary Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan said they have been informed of the issue and already requested the foreign ministry to talk to the Saudi embassy in Dhaka.
Saudi Arabia appreciates Bangladesh's move to go on MRPs gradually but they have not set any date stating that it would not accept handwritten passport, he said.
Those who have already completed formalities will now secure MRPs on emergency basis in three days. The passport department had been asked to strongly cooperate in such cases, he said.