Reza Mahmud :
Despite the easing of visa systems for Bangladeshi workers bound for Kuwait, some dishonest recruitment agencies continue to charge excessive fees under the guise of old hurdles, sources have said.
Stakeholders noted that Kuwait regularly hires both skilled and unskilled workers from various countries, including Bangladesh, for a variety of jobs, including cleaning services, office work, courts, shopping malls, roads, mosques, educational institutions, and agricultural farms.
While obtaining a visa for Kuwait has become relatively easier for neighbouring countries, the process remains more complex for Bangladeshi applicants.
It requires special high-level approval from Kuwait, known as ‘Lamana.’ Exploiting this requirement, some unscrupulous recruitment agencies have been inflating visa prices.
Previously, these agencies collected an average of Tk 30,000 extra for Kuwait work visas due to additional charges imposed by a group of recruitment agencies authorised by the Middle Eastern country.
Victims’ family members have alleged that agencies approved by the Kuwait Embassy in Dhaka are charging an additional $150 to $300 (Tk 17,000 to Tk 35,000) for visa processing, despite the official fee being Tk 6,270.
In addition to these extra charges, factors such as illegal visa trading and high airfares have driven the overall migration costs to five to six times the government-set rate of Tk 1.06 lakh, according to sector insiders, affected workers, and recruitment agencies.
Moreover, some dishonest agents mislead migrant workers with false promises, resulting in many arriving in Kuwait with inappropriate visas, such as the ‘Khadem’ domestic worker visa, the ‘Shoun’ visa, or visas for small companies.
Due to a lack of proper knowledge, many workers unknowingly become undocumented, tarnishing the image of Bangladeshis in Kuwait and suffering financial losses.
In response to this issue, the Bangladeshi Embassy in Kuwait recently issued a notice stating that individual visa authentication applications will only be accepted if submitted by the Kuwaiti employer or ‘Kafeel.’ This initiative has been welcomed by expatriates.
They believe that finding a sponsor (Kafeel) will become easier, ensuring greater accountability, reducing the prevalence of fake visas, and ensuring that Kuwaiti sponsors are held responsible in case of any issues.
Experts suggest that making embassy authentication mandatory for hiring Bangladeshi workers across all sectors would significantly reduce visa fraud and protect migrant workers from financial losses.
However, stakeholders, victim workers, and their families continue to allege that dishonest recruitment agencies and their local agents are still charging these extra fees.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) has vowed to take action against those agencies charging additional fees.
When contacted, Bir Muktijuddha Ali Haider Chowdhury, Secretary-General of BAIRA and Director of East West Human Resource Center Ltd.
told The New Nation on Saturday, “There are fewer recruitment agencies that export manpower to Kuwait.
BAIRA will take strict organisational action against those agencies charging extra fees.” He advised victims to submit complaints to BAIRA and other relevant government offices.
Sources have also indicated that a complaint was submitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission recently by a relative of a Kuwait-bound worker, accusing agencies of charging extra fees.
According to the complaint, between 2018 and the present, approximately 134,000 workers have migrated to Kuwait, and an estimated $30-$37 million has been extracted from them, with a significant portion allegedly laundered to Kuwait.
Although workers can obtain job demand letters individually or through any agency, they must process their visas through authorised agencies.
Typically, workers pay the full migration cost to an agency or middleman, who then handles all tasks, including visa processing through the recruiting agencies.
