The government has extended all out support and cooperation to the stranded migrants in order to ensure their smooth return to respective countries.
Many of the expatriate workers who came to the country on holiday from abroad could not return to their destination work stations on time due to the Covid-19 situation. Many workers' visas and work permits have already expired. The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment has taken initiative to collect their information, an official release from the ministry said.
According to the press release, various initiatives have been taken by the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to extend visas and increase the number of flights for workers who wish to return to their workplaces.
In the near future, effective diplomatic efforts will be made on these issues. The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have taken initiative to register all such workers in order to provide assistance to the returning and stranded workers and to take future plans. The information obtained through the registration process will be used in carrying out diplomatic efforts and relevant activities.
The notification further said that all such workers wishing to return abroad are requested to register online immediately at the link of BMET's website. (www.old.bmet.gov.bd/BMET/returnMigrant).
This registration can be done from any smart phone or computer. No fee has to be paid for this. If necessary, the nearest District Employment and Manpower Office (DEMO) can be contacted in this regard. It requested to visit BMET's website (www.bmet.gov.bd) for DEMO information.
However, uncertainty griped the expatriate workers now stranded at home as they are completely unaware about their return tothe respective work places.
Especially, the corona epidemic has hit foreign employment or immigration hard as many businesses, industries and infrastructure have been shut down in different countries. Some of expatriates have lost their jobs and some of them have been stuck on vacation. Many such victims fear that they may also lose work permit.
In such a situation, these expatriates are not getting any opportunity to go abroad as the air communicationsremain suspended. Expatriates have stumbled upon plane tickets after the news of the launch of air communication in Saudi Arabia, the largest labor market abroad.
According to the Bangladesh Biman Authority, 1,27,209 workers have returned to the country from abroad in the last 5 months. Among them 1,15,506 are men and 11,703 are women. This number is increasing day by day. They have returned to Bangladesh from about 32 countries. The highest number of returnees is 36,533 from the United Arab Emirates.
It is known that most of the workers returned to the country came from the United Arab Emirates. As many as 44,616 people have returned from the United Arab Emirates in coronavirus situation. Of these, 41,460 are male workers and 3,156 are female.
Meanwhile, for the past few days, they have protested in various parts of the capital demanding visa expansion and looking into the problems of validity of tickets.
