Oman’s visa suspension is a setback for Bangladeshi workers

It is not a good piece of news that Oman has suspended all visas for Bangladeshi citizens. Oman is a major destination for Bangladeshi expatriate workers.

Prior to this decision, expatriate Bangladeshis entered Oman on a visit visa and then had the opportunity to change it to an employment visa. Now they cannot enter Oman and it is a setback.

On the visa suspension, the Omani Embassy in Dhaka said that this visa decision is an attempt to align with the needs and stability of the Omani labour market and the measure is intended to ensure the rights of both workers and employers as per existing labour laws.

The embassy also said that the decision to suspend issuance of visas has been applied equally to citizens of other countries. This visa suspension is not a permanent measure however.

Bangladesh earns an average of $1 billion in remittances from Oman every year. Reportedly, several lakh Bangladeshi workers went to Oman in the last two years.

At present, a large number of expatriate Bangladeshi workers are working in various sectors in Oman. The news of Oman’s decision on visa comes at a time when remittance inflows are dwindling and negatively affecting Bangladesh’s dollar reserves.

Bangladesh will have to do a lot and, very seriously at that, to ease the problems of Bangladesh expatriate workers that they face routinely.

They are cheated by the agents who send them to their work destinations.

They take more money than what is necessary. They are not given jobs as they are promised.

While it is very vital to remove the hurdles the expatriate workers face within Bangladesh, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment must now work closely with the governments of other countries.

However, emphasis should also be given on finding new labour markets. Equally important is to give focus on developing skilled workers in the country as their demand in foreign countries is high and they can earn more money than the unskilled ones.

The popular adage goes: honesty is the best policy. Bangladeshi workers often go to foreign countries illegally and it is often alleged that they also get involved in illegal activities in foreign lands.

This has to be checked for Bangladesh’s reputation abroad which will create more opportunities for its workers.