Bangladesh ranks sixth as a source country for migrants, though eighth in terms of remittance income.
This statistic brings one thing to the fore – our remittance flow is low compared to the amount of manpower going abroad.
This information was revealed in the recent World Migration Report of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
There are many reasons behind this, the most discussed of which is the issue of exporting unskilled manpower.
However, many migrants have to return home without finding work after going abroad legally through recruiting agents or brokers in the immigration process.
Unfortunately, the Bangladesh Manpower, Employment and Training Bureau (BMET), an organization that analyzes data on legal migrants, has the number of people going abroad, but does not have any information on returning expatriates.
Based on information from the Wage Earners Welfare Board and non-governmental organization BRAC, media reports revealed that 673,570 Bangladeshis returned to the country from various countries, though they went legally from 2015 to 2024. The number of returnees is increasing every year.
Assuming the average cost of each returning worker is 5 lakh taka, the total loss to the expatriate families amounts to about 34 thousand crore taka.
This money has mainly gone into the pockets of brokers and recruiting agents.
The largest number of remittances has been sent back from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Oman and Kuwait.
This is not only harming the expatriates and their families, but also creating
a risk of adverse effects on the country’s remittance flow.
Our migrants play a major role in maintaining the country’s foreign exchange reserves. In the first nine months of the current 2024-25 fiscal year, expatriates sent remittances worth about $22 billion.
Sadly, many migrants are returning home after serving time in prison, paying fines, or in a destitute state. The government must take some urgent steps to address this situation.
The immigration process must be made fully transparent, auditable, and technology-based, so that each worker can verify their visa, employment contract, recruiting agency information, and costs.
To bring discipline in manpower sector, a certain number of agencies can be evaluated each year and their licenses can be renewed or revoked.
A regulatory body free from political influence must be established to oversee this sector.
In addition, a comprehensive program is needed for the rehabilitation of returned workers.
Entrepreneurship support projects can also be launched. This will enable them to turn around financially on their own.
