Around 750,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers have benefited from an amnesty offer for illegal workers by the Saudi authorities, Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Md Shahidul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune over phone on Tuesday.
Of the beneficiaries, about 400,000 undocumented workers’ passports were renewed and issued while around 350,000 workers, who were at the risk of becoming undocumented, were able to change their professions.
Officials said earlier the workers were not authorised to change their professions.
He, however, admitted there was no basis of this assumption.
Talking to this correspondent recently, some migrants claimed that stay of many Bangladeshi expatriates were still not legalised.
Regarding the claim, Shahidul said a few thousands of the workers without legal documents, might had been left out.
“We have requested the Saudi authorities to help these workers to go back home and they agreed to do so,” he said.
Officials said over 70,000 Bangladeshi migrants had taken out-passes from the Bangladesh embassy in Saudi Arabia to return home, availing the Saudi government’s amnesty for illegal foreign workers which would expire on November 3.
Of them, around 25,000 migrants have already returned. Majority of the rest of the workers have been able to change their professions, they claimed.
Bangladeshi diplomatic missions in the Kingdom have so far processed the applications of 700,000 expats for the issuance and renewal of passports, out-passes and travel permits, reported Arab News on October 29.
According to Arab News, in addition to consular services offered in Riyadh, the Bangladesh Embassy also organised consular services in Jubail, Al-Ahsa, Dammam, Al-Jouf, Sakaka and Al-Qassim.
The Jeddah Consulate also offered consular services in Khamis Mushayt, Jazan, Najran, Tabuk, Yanbu, Al-Baha and Madinah.
The Kingdom is presently a home to some 1.8m Bangladeshi expatriates.
The ministries of labour and interior have issued serious warnings to the illegal expatriates to complete their formalities in time to avoid arrest by teams of inspectors who will take to the field once the amnesty expired.
