Expatriates who applied for passports abroad will start receiving MRPs from 15 Dec: Asif Nazrul
All MRP passport applications will be processed within three to four weeks
Expatriates who applied for passports will start receiving them from 15 December, Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul said today (11 December).
All applicants will receive their machine-readable passports (MRP) within the next three to four weeks, said the adviser in a Facebook live.
He said, "First, passports will be printed with priority for Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. Then, passports will be given on a priority basis to countries where the demand is high. So, many MRPs are being printed so that there will be no more problems in the next 2/3 years."
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The adviser to the ministry of expatriates' welfare and overseas employment said problems with passports surfaced during the previous fascist government.
"The then minister tried to give the responsibility of printing passports to a company of his choice. One and a half years were wasted in the tendering process.
"Then after we took charge, it took time to cancel the entire process and start over, which caused a lot of trouble for you [applicants]. I express my regrets," he added.
Currently, more than 20,000 expatriates have applied for MRP renewal in Malaysia. However, the Department of Immigration and Passports has said applicants waiting for MRP printing will be issued e-passports quickly if they apply by submitting a fee.
The Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur recently announced in a notice that passport printing from Bangladesh is being delayed due to the shortage of MRP booklets, lamination foil paper and mechanical malfunction of the MRP printing machine.
Thousands of expatriates are in extreme distress due to this. Some have already become illegal immigrants due to not having a passport, while many are at risk of becoming illegal.
In such a situation, many are applying for new e-passports every day.
The high commission also came up with an interim solution and said those who have applied for MRP earlier will be issued e-passports without having to wait for MRP if they submit an additional 51 ringgit along with a copy of the bank slip.
There is a clamour for passports among Bangladeshis living abroad in various countries, especially in countries with a large population of workers.
A significant portion of Bangladeshis living abroad are facing various complications, including visa renewals being suspended in Italy, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates due to the lack of passport validity, and being unable to travel to the country for urgent work.
Three advisers in charge of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs and Expatriates' Welfare held an emergency meeting yesterday (10 December) to find an interim solution to the crisis as soon as possible.
In the meeting, the Department of Immigration and Passports announced it would collect 350,000 passport books on an urgent basis.
It was also said a large portion of the pending 190,000 passports will be able to reach Bangladesh missions abroad by 15 December.
The rest will be sent within the next three weeks.
