[🇧🇩] Legal/illegal Foreign workers in Bangladesh

[Saif]

Date Occurred: Nov 10, 2024

Foreign workers headcount to begin​

Staff Correspondent 10 November, 2024, 00:50

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics is going to begin the economic census next month and one of the major aims of the census is, for the first time, to determine the number of foreign workers in the country.

The number of foreign workers is the most demanded information nowadays, additional secretary (Informatics) SM Shakil Akhter of the Statistics and Information Division told New Age on Saturday.

The actual number of foreign workers in the country, however, is not known by any government agencies.

On June 2023, the then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan told Jatiya Sangsad that about 20,000 foreign nationals from 115 countries were working in Bangladesh with work permits and visas.

Among them, 1,750 were Chinese while 5,876 Indians, 2,468 Russians, 1,246 Sri Lankans, 924 South Koreans, 557 Japanese, 416 Pakistanis, 460 Filipinos, 399 Thais, 378 Belarusians, 269 Kazakhs, 168 Americans, 139 Koreans, 123 Malaysians and 108 were Indonesians.

A major responsibility of the statistics division is to deliver actual data on demanded issues, said SM Shakil, also the project director of the Economic Census 2023.

He said that the actual number of foreign workers would be known after the census.

Answering to a question how they will determine the information on foreign workers to be given by economic establishments correct, SM Shakil said that they would also collect data from the human resources wing of business establishments.

He said that this would be done to verify the information.

BBS officials said that a total of 65 questions would be asked to 1.22 crore economic establishments throughout the country during the field-level survey that will begin on December 10.

This is the first time the BBS will seek specific information about foreign workers working in Bangladesh.

Previously, three economic censuses were conducted in the country with the last one in 2013.

The current census, according to the BBS officials, was supposed to be conducted in 2023.

However, delays in approving the project by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council will cause almost one year of deferment in releasing the survey outcomes.

BBS officials expected to release the survey outcomes in January 2025.​

 

[Saif]

Govt to take action aganist foreigners staying illegally in Bangladesh

The home ministry on Sunday requested the foreign nationals, living and working at different organisations in Bangladesh illegally, to obtain legal residency and work permit documents...

www.newagebd.net

Govt to take action aganist foreigners staying illegally in Bangladesh
Staff Correspondent 08 December, 2024, 17:08

Home affairs adviser Lt Col, retd, Jahangir Alam | File photo

The home ministry on Sunday requested the foreign nationals, living and working at different organisations in Bangladesh illegally, to obtain legal residency and work permit documents.

Legal actions will be taken against those who would be found working or residing illegally, said a said a warning notice of the ministry’s Security Services Division issued on Sunday.

The notice also said that the ministry came to know from different sources that many foreign nationals were staying Bangladesh illegally.

The home adviser, retired lieutenant general Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, on the day said, ‘No foreigners will be allowed to stay in Bangladesh illegally…. We do not have any statistics how many foreigners staying in Bangladesh illegally from which countries.’

He said this while responding to journalists at a briefing at the secretariat after holding law on order meeting on Christmas Day and the thirty-first night.

He said that, after receiving total statistics, they would impose timeframe for foreign nationals to be regular.

‘Border is on alert at all places. Sylhet and Benapole borders are no longer on alert alone,’ said Jahangir when he was asked about the tension between India and Bangladesh along border.

He said that none would be allowed to enter Bangladesh illegally through borders.

‘It is not for now but for anytime,’ he vowed.

He urged journalists to combat against Indian propaganda through news.​

 

[Saif]

Illegal foreign nationals make most of lax law enforcement

In a global village, Bangladesh is certainly not a dream destination for migrant workers from around the world. Actually, the reverse is the case. A small country with an oversize population, has to look for works for the inflating ranks of its diaspora and workers, often unskilled and semi-s

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Illegal foreign nationals make most of lax law enforcement
Nilratan Halder
Published :
Dec 13, 2024 00:00
Updated :
Dec 13, 2024 00:00

In a global village, Bangladesh is certainly not a dream destination for migrant workers from around the world. Actually, the reverse is the case. A small country with an oversize population, has to look for works for the inflating ranks of its diaspora and workers, often unskilled and semi-skilled, abroad. However, this country also offers opportunities for foreign nationals to work here. But the mismatch of data once again leaves anyone looking for the correct figure in confusion with the Ministry of Home Affairs putting it at 24,966 and the National Board of Revenue estimating the number at 17,397 by June this year. A Bangla contemporary reported on Wednesday last that over 100,000 foreign nationals are staying here legally.

. Against 7.4 million Bangladeshi expatriates working abroad, according to a UN estimate in 2020 (which figure is unlikely to change much by now), the number of foreigners staying here with work permits and other assignments is puny indeed. But for a country where an outsize demography is primarily a curse but could be turned into a blessing, even this small number of foreign expatriates is too much. It is sad that the specialised service they render is beyond the capabilities of local university graduates and post-graduates.

Yet the expatriates from different countries residing here with jobs are not as big a headache as those staying here illegally. Reportedly 40,000 illegal foreign nationals have found Bangladesh a safe haven for carrying out various crimes, mostly of financial nature. They set up trap by offering precious gifts, operate online casino gambling, get engaged in the notoriety of credit card cloning and several other digital fraudulence in order to make unearned money and send those back home through hundi.

Clearly, these illegal immigrants, some of whom are reported to have destroyed their passports, have developed a criminal nexus and quite understandably they have done so with their local allies here. News of such clandestine financial crimes committed at a number of automated teller machine (ATM) booths and the use of subtle tricks in offering lucrative rewards to make unsuspecting people meet financial demands first has often made the rounds. But not enough has been done by the security agencies to nab and send them packing.

Although 730 foreign citizens have been accused of criminal activities over the past 12 years and currently more than 400 of them are interned in 68 prisons of the country, the illegal stay by as many as 40,000 illegal foreigners is proof enough that the issue has not been paid the attention it deserves. One of the answers to this intriguing issue is likely to be that birds of a feather flock together. If an inspector general of police (IGP) of Benazir Ahmed's notorious stature can prosper in an administrative environment, so can foreign nationals spreading a criminal network. If the men and women assigned the job of securing the country's financial accounts from intrusion by fraudsters themselves become grossly corrupt, their interests and those of the foreigners involved in similar activities are sure to find a meeting point. This perhaps explains why such a large number of illegal foreigners staying here with the dubious mission of stealing money were shown such laxity.

The special branch (SB) of the police keeps tab on foreign nationals staying here. It has its own excuses for not maintaining the accurate data of foreigners arriving in the country. But the home ministry has now issued a notification directing all foreigners staying here to update their work permits and other relevant documents immediately in favour of their service and other businesses. Legal action would be taken against those failing to comply with the order. Strangely, no deadline for getting the legal instruments updated has been mentioned. Is this a deliberate omission or a lack of seriousness on the part of the home ministry or the report carried in the contemporary missed it somehow?

A list of foreigners involved in crimes in the capital is far too short. Only 22 Chinese, 19 Nigerians, 12 Indians, four Japanese and three Cameroonians make up the list. But the 730 foreign nationals against whom cases have been filed over the past 12 years, Nigerians are at the top of the list with 91 of them being accused. Then again, of the more than 400 imprisoned, 70 have been pronounced guilty by the court, more than 200 are under trial and 150 are waiting for return to their homeland.

The highest number of criminal cases has reportedly been instituted under the Digital Security Act, 2018 and the Cyber Security Act, 2023. But apart from cyber crimes, foreigners are also found to be involved in crimes like women trafficking, sex crimes involving underage girls and women, pornography, smuggling of drugs and wild animals. What is surprising is that drug smuggling has not figured pronouncedly in the list of crimes foreigners are most likely to be involved in. Again, gold smuggling is a perennial problem here and without collusion between foreign gold smugglers and their local partners, this widespread network of smuggling could not operate. There is more than the eyes can meet. But in a country where corruption was more or less institutionalised, it is only natural that organised crime syndicates from foreign soils found it a safe haven for spreading their underworld missions in collaboration with their local counterparts.​

 

[Saif]

Threat from illegal foreigners

A significant number of foreign residents have been living in the country for an extended period, many of them illegally. The interim government has already urged these individuals to legalise their stay, and an official order has been issued to this effect. However, a lack of comprehensive data on

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Threat from illegal foreigners
Tanim Asjad
Published :
Dec 20, 2024 21:23
Updated :
Dec 20, 2024 21:23

A significant number of foreign residents have been living in the country for an extended period, many of them illegally. The interim government has already urged these individuals to legalise their stay, and an official order has been issued to this effect. However, a lack of comprehensive data on illegally residing foreign citizens calls for urgently addressing.

Quoting the official sources, some newspapers reported that around two hundred thousand (two lakhs) foreign citizens are staying in the country with valid visas or prior permission. Of them, around one-fourth or 45,000 are Indian citizens, followed by 13,000 United States (US) citizens, and 10,500 Chinese citizens. So, around two-thirds of the foreign citizens staying legally in Bangladesh are from these three countries. Of course, many US citizens are also citizens of Bangladesh as they hold dual citizenship.

Most foreign citizens come to Bangladesh for business, jobs, tourism, and education. Some stay for a short period, while others stay for longer periods, according to their needs. Alarmingly, some of them also stay after the validity of their visas expires. For instance, at least 7,500 Indian citizens are staying in the country even after the expiration of their travel permission.

What is more alarming is that the number of foreign citizens staying without any valid permission and the number is estimated at 0.40-0.50 million or more than double the legally staying foreigners. A large number of them are from India. The question is how such a big number of citizens of other countries are living in the country and why the law enforcing agencies have so long turned a blind eye to their illegal stay.

As foreign citizens enter the country through border control points, it is crucial to maintain accurate entry and exit records. The advancement of information and communication technology (ICT) has made it easier to create and maintain a comprehensive databank. However, the lack of proper planning and necessary measures is hindering the development of a comprehensive and interactive data repository of foreign citizens. Moreover, the past decade has seen many foreign citizens entering and staying in the country without proper documentation, a situation exacerbated by corruption and irregularities in relevant departments. The political support of the Hasina regime, especially for some Indian citizens to stay without proper approval, has also contributed to the increase in the number of illegal foreigners in the country.

Overall, the presence of a large number of illegal foreigners in the country highlights the poor state of governance. Many of these illegal foreigners pose a serious threat to the internal security of the country as they are mostly involved in various crimes in partnership with local criminals. Crimes such as human and drug trafficking to counterfeiting currency notes, gambling, illegal arms dealing and smuggling of gold, different foreign citizens are all committed by the foreign residents staying illegally, the police inform.

Therefore, a well-organised crackdown is imperative to identify, penalise, and deport these illegal foreign citizens. The government also needs to set up a substantial data repository to monitor the entry, presence, and exit of foreign citizens.​

 

[Bilal9]

Govt warns of taking action against illegal foreigners​

DHAKA, Dec 10, 2024 (BSS) – The government has warned of taking legal action against foreign nationals staying and working in Bangladesh illegally, in case of their failure to obtain legal documents.

All the concerned organizations have been asked to extend required cooperation to this end and if they fail to do so, the institutions concerned would be brought to justice.

The home ministry today issued the warning notice in this regard.
Home Adviser Lt. Gen. Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (Retd.) and Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser (Equivalent to State Minister), Home Ministry Md. Khuda Baksh Chowdhury signed the notice.

The notice stated: "Complaints are being received from various sources that many foreign nationals are illegally staying in Bangladesh and illegally working in various institutions.”

Based on the complaints, the Home Ministry asked all foreign nationals who are illegally staying or working in Bangladesh to obtain legal documents to stay or work in Bangladesh immediately.

“In this regard, all concerned departments or institutions are also requested to provide necessary cooperation. Otherwise, legal action will be taken against those staying illegally and the relevant institutions,” the notice added.

Earlier on December 8, the Home Ministry issued another waning notice asking the illegal foreign nationals to obtain legal documents to stay and work in Bangladesh legally.

 

[Saif]

How could 30,000 foreigners stay here without valid papers?