50 lakh Bangladeshis living abroad have not MRP

Bangladesh is to face serious problems regarding issuance of Machine Readable Passports (MRP) for expatriates in due time.

The Bangladesh government has failed to provide Machine Readable Passports to at least 5 million expatriates due to failures of the passport department and the international company IRIS Corporation of the MRP project.

The international deadline for MRPs is 24 November this year.

Handwritten passports will be considered void after 24 November.

According to the Department of Immigration and Passports, on an average, 1,100 expatriates received MRPs per day after the MPR project was launched five years ago.

A total of 4 million expatriates received MRPs in the past five years. Of them, 2 million expatriates who are staying in abroad received MRPs and remaining 2 million received these at home.

According to government statistics, there are 9 million Bangladeshis living abroad. The remaining 5 million expatriates are yet to receive MRPs.

If the current sluggish pace in issuing MRPs continues, providing MRPs to remaining 5 million expatriates will not be possible in due time.

The Malaysian company named IRIS Corporation is conducting the MRP project.

Despite dissatisfaction of the former expatriate welfare minister, secretary of the PM office, and also the foreign secretary over the lack of speed in issuance of passports by the Malaysian company, the home ministry and passport department did not take any steps in this regard.

Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kalmal said, “What has already happened does not matter. We want to finish the work in due time and we can do this.”

According to the documents received from the embassy, the Malaysian company was involved in corruption and various kinds of irregularities previously.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina formed a taskforce, headed by the principal secretary of the PMO, and an advisory committee, headed by former expatriate welfare minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, to ensure issuance of MRPs for the expatriates in time.

Despite repeated pressure from the taskforce and advisory committee, the Malaysian company did not accelerate their work.

Former expat minister and current LGRD minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain expressed his doubt about the completion of the MRPs in due time.