New visa centre Tasheera gets KSA embassy’s approval

Staff Reporter :
Amid protest from the country’s recruiting agencies demanding cancellation of permit of ‘Shapla Centre’, the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday gave its approval to receive passports of fingerprints of Saudi-bound Bangladesh migrants workers and visitors through Tasheera Visa Service Center, another visa processing centre, initiated by the Saudi Company for Visa and Travel Solutions Limited owned by two Saudi nationals.
According to documents available to this correspondent, two Saudi nationals Fahad Suliman Al Amoud of the Saudi Company for Visa and Travel Solutions and Abdulaziz Ibrahim Al Nowaiser of Tahakom Investment Company initiated the ‘Saudi Company for Visa and Travel Solutions Limited’ in November last year. The visa service centre ‘Tasheera’was initiated under the company, which has already been registered by the country’s Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC).
Earlier on Saturday, Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) organized an emergency meeting in a city hotel demanding cancellation for permits of ‘Shapla Centre, a visa processing and passport receiving center initiated by the local entrepreneurs.
According to BAIRA officials, after the meeting, the Saudi ambassador in Dhaka assured the agency owners not to process visas and receive passports through any visa processing center. The embassy will receive the documents from the recruiting agencies or individuals need their clearances.
After the assurance, the Saudi embassy has issued a letter to receive the documents in the embassy, not through the Shapla center.
But, only a day after the announcement, the embassy on Tuesday issued a letter to all accredited agencies saying, “The Royal Embassy in Dhaka would like to inform all accredited recruiting agencies to the embassy that the registration for biometric fingerprint and receiving the passports for visit through Saudi Company for Travel and Visa Solutions (Tasheer) will start from October 24 (Monday). Accordingly, registration for biometric fingerprint and receiving passports for work through ‘Tasheer’ will start on Monday corresponding to October 31.”
With the decision of the embassy after commitment to not allow any visa center, most of the  
counyt’s recruiting agencies have expressed frustration.
Immediate after learning the embassy decision, the leaders of BAIRA on Tuesday held an emergency meeting for taking its next course of actions on the matter.
On Tuesday, the embassy has received some documents in its counters.
But on Monday, the embassy officials haven’t received any passport or visa on Monday showing the cause of delay in submission, according to the representatives of the service seeker recruiting agencies.
As a result, several hundred of recruiting agency representatives had to go back without submitting the documents of the jobseeker workers. They were asked to go to the embassy in the early hours on Tuesday.
When contacted, BAIRA President Md. Abul Bashar told this correspondent that there might be some problems as the embassy officials haven’t received some passports on Monday despite the interference of its ambassador.
“After Saturday’s meeting, the Saudi ambassador called us at his office and discussed about the matter. He assured us that the passports would be taken in the embassy, not in any visa center. But, they haven’t taken on Monday showing the reason of delay. It’s unfortunate to approve another agency owned by two foreigners for the work again,” he added.
The ‘Shapla Centre’ was initiated for the same reason of processing Saudi Arabia-bound workers visas with the goal to liberalise visa processing protocol.
There used to be long queues in front of the embassy with strict security and personnel enquiry that used to impede passport submission. With the Shapla Centre, there was a solution in sight, with great benefit to all recruiting agencies. The visa processing fee is minimal and will go to Bangladeshi recruiting agents. The money will stay in Bangladesh, benefitting the country’s economy, according to the agencies.
The Bangladeshi recruiting agencies have already made a plea to identify the locals accomplice to ‘Tashira’ visa service centre and bring them to book at a time when nationalism should our top priority.