Work visa will soon be normalised, says Bangladesh envoy

abu dhabi — The Bangladeshi government will tighten background checks on its citizens coming to the UAE for employment, a top diplomat has told Khaleej Times.

“As part of the ongoing discussions with the UAE authorities, we have agreed to tighten security and background checks on migrant workers coming to the UAE,” Muhammad Imran, the Bangladeshi ambassador to the UAE, told Khaleej Times.

The move is part of the South Asian country’s efforts to curb crime rates, and ease work visa restrictions on its citizens wanting to take up jobs in the emirate.

“There are some security concerns about an increase in the number of crimes committed by Bangladeshis in the UAE. We have assured the UAE government that steps will be taken to curb the problem,” said the envoy.

The Bangladesh’s minister of expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment, Nurul Islam, met with Saqr Ghobash, UAE Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, on May 16 in Abu Dhabi.

“We are hopeful the work visa will soon be normalised, and more Bangladeshis will be able to come to the UAE. There has been really positive outcomes from

Muhammad Imran

the meetings between officials of both the countries,” he added.

An estimated 700,000 to 800,000 Bangladeshi expats are working in the UAE, both in the skilled and unskilled sector. As per the embassy documents, between 700 to 800 Bangladeshis are currently serving prison terms in the UAE. The envoy said his government already has a threetier security check on all migrant workers, but the system will be further strengthened.

“In 2014, the UAE and Bangladesh signed two agreements on security cooperation, that included a prisoner exchange programme.” In 2015, UAE also opened a visa centre in Dhaka to facilitate easy visa procedures. “The centre is functional. But we hope it will operate in full swing once more recruitments to the UAE take place,” said the envoy.