125 Bangladeshi migrants denied entry to Abu Dhabi
They were denied entry as they did not have the required documents
The immigration authorities of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have denied 125 Bangladeshi migrants entry as the latter did not have the required entry permits.
The migrants went to Abu Dhabi from Dubai on a flydubai flight and then returned to Dhaka on Sunday afternoon as they were denied entry.
Dr Shahriar Sajjad, a health officer at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, said, "They went to Abu Dhabi from Dubai but did not have the transit entry permit. The airline is responsible for the problem because it should have taken permission for the transit beforehand."
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Confirming the matter, Shariful Hasan, head of Brac Migration Programme, said, "Although the migrants had residence permits, they did not have transit permits."
Earlier, 112 Bangladeshi migrants, who went to the Middle Eastern country between July 14 and August 21, were denied entry.
According to a report of a probe committee headed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), the ambiguity and complications in the policy of the Abu Dhabi immigration authorities were the main reason behind the denial of Bangladeshi migrants' entry to the city.
CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman said at a press conference on August 26 that a worker would previously need an entry permit issued by the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) of the UAE but the requirement was relaxed on August 10.
"The policy was updated on August 13 by the UAE authorities. They said workers whose visas had expired would need the ICA approval, and those with valid visas would need to update their status online on uaeentry.ica.gov.ae provided by the ICA authority.
"But the decision to update the entry policy more than once was not circulated widely. Even the airlines and the embassy were not well-informed about this, which raised confusion," Mafidur explained.
That is why many workers could not follow the guidelines and did not carry their ICA permits, he added.
Meanwhile, Bangladeshi expatriates in Italy, who came to Bangladesh on holiday but had their visas expired after being stranded here for eight to ten months, held a sit-in on Sunday in front of the Italian embassy in Dhaka.
They demanded automatic extension of their visas, resumption of flights, their return to work, and help from the government of Bangladesh.
Hridoy Hossain, an Italy returnee, said they had met the Italian ambassador to Bangladesh and presented the demands to him.
He said the ambassador had assured them of automatic renewal of visas.
Bangladesh suspended international flights in March due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, but many expatriates returned to Italy on several chartered flights with the help of the Bangladesh embassy in Italy.
Italy earlier announced cancellation of all flights with Bangladesh and on June 8, the European country deported 168 Bangladeshis on two flights.
