Process underway to send Bahrain-returnee expats back: Foreign Ministry

The Foreign Ministry said that the process is underway to send Bahrain-returnee expatriates back to Bahrain.

The Bangladeshi mission at Bahrain is maintaining constant contact with the country's government to facilitate their return as soon as possible, said a press release issued by the Foreign Ministry on Sunday.

Bangladeshi expatriates, who returned home from Bahrain before the pandemic and whose visas have expired, were previously asked to register online at the Bangladeshi Mission in Manama.

A total of 967 Bangladeshi expats completed the online registrations during that time, the release added.

The Foreign Ministry said that the list has already been sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain for consideration.

Those expats who have not yet completed the registration, still have the opportunity to register, the release said.

Under the 9-month general amnesty from April to December, visas of some 30,000 Bangladeshis have been regularised during the pandemic. Currently there are 25,000 Bangladeshi expats with irregular visas in Bahrain.

The Foreign ministry further said that it has requested the Bahrain government to consider regularising the irregular or expired visas of Bangladeshi expats currently residing there.

Stating that the Bahrain government did not forcibly send anyone back to Bangladesh, Foreign Ministry said many Bangladeshi expats voluntarily returned to the country before or during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Bahrain government only deported Bangladeshi expats living in prisons or in deportation camps under a general amnesty, the release said.

Visas for Bangladeshis have been closed in Bahrain since 2016.

The Ministry said that the government is working hard to reintroduce visas to Bahrain.