Staff reporter :
The interim government is committed to fully implementing electronic passports (e-passports) by 31 December this year to enhance services for Bangladeshi citizens.
Additionally, the government plans to take strict action against foreign nationals overstaying in Bangladesh without renewing their visas.
Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury made these remarks during a visit to the Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) on Monday.
“We hope that e-passports will be fully implemented by 31 December this year,” he stated.
Warning foreigners residing unlawfully in Bangladesh, he said, “Many foreign nationals are staying in the country without valid visas, and several are even employed.
Legal action will be taken against them if they fail to obtain a visa by 31 January.”
According to a DIP report, approximately 30,000 foreigners-primarily from India and China-are residing in Bangladesh despite the expiry of their visas.
Sources indicate that many of these individuals are engaged in criminal activities such as drug trafficking, fraud, counterfeit currency transactions, illegal VOIP operations, gold smuggling, online gambling, and even human trafficking.
It is also suspected that a significant amount of money is being laundered to their home countries through illegal channels.
Meanwhile, reminding DIP officials of their responsibilities, the Home Affairs Adviser stated, “The DIP is a service-oriented institution. You must ensure the quality of services continues to improve.”
Highlighting a decline in corruption at the Department of Passports, he remarked, “Corruption in this institution has significantly decreased since the current Director General (DG) took office.
However, it must be reduced further. People still face considerable challenges in obtaining passports, and discussions have been held on how to alleviate these difficulties.”
Addressing allegations that Rohingyas are acquiring Bangladeshi passports and engaging in criminal activities abroad, he stated, “At one point, I considered removing police verification and issuing passports based solely on the National ID (NID) card, as police verification often causes delays and inconvenience. Sometimes, there are insufficient officers to conduct the verification.”
“However, due to the Rohingya issue, this process cannot be eliminated at present. I cannot confirm whether police verification will remain, but if it is found that passports can be issued based solely on the NID, then the verification process may be withdrawn,” he added.
Regarding complaints from expatriates about delays in receiving their Machine Readable Passports (MRPs), the Home Affairs Adviser assured that while the MRPs have been dispatched from Bangladesh, delivery issues persist. The DG of Passports is addressing the matter, and steps are being taken to ensure timely delivery.
