Bangladeshi expatriates are getting their national identity cards while living abroad. Currently, the Election Commission (EC) is providing national identity card (NID) services to expatriate Bangladeshis in nine countries of the world.
According to EC sources, the countries providing NID services of the EC include the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Kuwait, Qatar, Malaysia, Australia and Canada. The national identity registration process has been launched at 16 stations in these 9 countries. Of these, the United Arab Emirates has the highest number of applicants. This is followed by the United Kingdom, Italy and Kuwait.
A total of 45,842 expatriates have applied for NIDs from these nine countries as of May 29, 2025. Of these, 29,151 people have had their biometrics taken, 19,886 have been investigated and approved. Another 460 applications are awaiting approval.
The national identity card program will be launched in 10 to 12 more countries by December 2025, officials have said. A letter has already been sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in this regard.
National Identity Registration Division Director (Registration and Expatriates Branch) Md Abdul Momin Sarkar told Dhaka Tribune: "Currently, the missions in the nine countries with which we are working have arrangements for NID biometrics and photos of the expatriates. However, expatriates will not get NIDs just by having a passport. The applicant must be a valid passport holder and possess a birth certificate. He will get NID only if the information provided by that citizen is verified and proven correct."
How expatriate Bangladeshis living abroad will get NIDs
According to the Director of the National Identity Registration Division (Registration and Expatriate Branch), three conditions must be met to apply for an NID while living abroad. An expatriate must have a valid passport, birth certificate and a color photograph.
In the first step, expatriates living in the nine countries with which the Bangladesh EC currently has operations can apply online or directly to the mission. However, the application must be made according to the application qualifications determined by the EC. The applicant must be at least 18 years of age.
The temporary address in the application form will be the current address of the expatriate, but the permanent address will be where the expatriate's family members live in Bangladesh. The application for a national identity card must include the numbers used abroad and the numbers of two close relatives living in Bangladesh.
During the application process, the mission must have a copy of the applicant's valid passport, that is a Bangladeshi passport with validity. At the same time, there must be a birth certificate, which must conform to the information provided in the passport and birth certificate. If there is a discrepancy, the birth certificate must be corrected. However, those who have a national identity card or have previously applied for a national identity card from Bangladesh will be excluded from the application. Finally, one copy of a recently taken passport-sized color photograph will be required. All documents, including the application form, must be submitted directly to the mission.
In the second step, the applicant's representative must submit the following to the Upazila Election Office in Bangladesh--education certificate, NIDs of parents, death certificate if deceased, driving license, TIN (if applicable), Nikahnama and NIDs of husband and wife (if applicable), citizenship certificate and copy of utility bill.
In the third step, after biometric registration and submission of necessary documents, an investigation will be conducted at the relevant upazila level to verify the information of the expatriate citizen. If a positive investigation report is received from Bangladesh, biometrics and photographs will be taken and all the procedures of the applicant will be completed. Once the national identity card is ready, a message will be sent from the mission to the relevant number provided at the time of application.
Later, the applicant will be able to log in online and download the national identity card and get a printout. When the smart card is printed and reaches the mission of the relevant country from Dhaka, it will be notified through the website and Facebook and it can be collected from the mission.
NIDs have been provided to 11,000 expatriates living abroad
According to the Director of the National Identity Registration Division (Registration and Expatriate Branch), NIDs have been distributed to 11,287 expatriates as of May 29. In addition, 740 people are in the process of NID distribution. Information regarding 2,500 people awaits uploading from the missions.
Director of the National Identity Registration Division (Registration and Expatriate Branch) Md Abdul Momin Sarkar said: "We are transferring the documents of the applicant to the districts concerned only after they are uploaded online from the relevant mission. After verification at the field level under the upazila election commission, we approve it online and send it online to the appropriate mission. From there, the expatriates are getting NIDs.
“However, if the application is not eligible and the necessary documents are not submitted, it is declared void. So far, the applications of 3,597 people have been cancelled. When asked about the reason for the cancellation, he said that most of those whose applications were cancelled had already received national identity cards. Besides, there are multiple reasons, including not having good relations with parents and changing addresses.
ASM Humayun Kabir, director general of the National Identity Card Registration Division of the EC, said: "We have not received clearance from 31 countries yet. However, we are contacting them individually. Many are not giving this clearance owing to reasons of a shortage of manpower and office space. We hope that it will be possible to start the registration process in 10 to 12 more countries by December. We are working towards that."