Saudi Arabia has finally agreed to extend the validity of visas and iqama for Bangladeshi workers by 24 days, providing some sort of relief for the returnee migrant workers desperately trying to go back to the Gulf country before their visas expire.
The stranded Bangladeshi workers, whose visas have already expired, will now be able to apply for the extension of visa from Sunday, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told the media on Wednesday.
The iqama (work permit) of expatriate Bangladeshi workers will remain valid for 24 more days and if required, there will be further extension, he added.
The Saudi authority also gave permission to the Biman Bangladesh Airlines to operate special flights.
Following the development, the Biman, in a press release, said the national flag carrier will operate special flights on the Dhaka-Jeddah route on September 26 and on Dhaka-Riyadh route on September 27 for the return ticket holders who were scheduled to fly on March 16 and 17 respectively.
Earlier in the day, a significant number of Saudi-bound migrant workers demonstrated in front of the Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry in Dhaka after failing to manage air tickets.
They raised their demand for extension of Saudi visas and the validity of iqama so that they can join their work in the oil-rich country.
In response, expatriates' welfare minister Imran Ahmad talked to a delegation of the agitated workers and told them that the foreign ministry has sent a note verbale to the Saudi authorities with a request to extend the visas and validity of the work permits for at least three months.
The minister also said they would hopefully get the reply by Sunday and convey the message to the workers on Monday.
Another group of workers also staged protests in the city's Karwanbazar area for the second day on Wednesday, demanding immediate issuance of tickets for flights to Saudi Arabia.
On Tuesday, several hundred migrant workers demonstrated in front of the Saudia Airlines office in the area as no tickets were available.
Like Saudi-bound workers, thousands of migrant workers who came back from different job destination countries are also facing uncertainty as to whether they would be able to return to their workplaces timely amid coronavirus restrictions.
These workers returned home before the Covid-19 outbreak.
Insiders said nearly 100,000 workers returned home 'on leave' but most of them could not return to the job destination countries.
About 30,000 to 40,000 workers returned from Saudi Arabia. And the rest of them came from Malaysia, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and other countries, they said.
Of them, most Saudi-bound workers are now facing immense sufferings as their visas and validity of work permits will be expired by this month.
They have return tickets but could not confirm the tickets as yet, said the workers.
Talking to The Financial Express, several workers said their visas will be expired on September 30. If they fail to go to Saudi Arabia by this time, they will lose their jobs.
Mobarak Ali, a migrant worker, said his employers advised him to join work as soon as possible. But he cannot fly back as the airlines concerned is not confirming his ticket.
"If he fails to go to Saudi Arabia in time, he will lose the job," Ali said, adding that he is the lone earning member in his family.
He could not pay off the loans he took out to meet his migration cost.
Shariful Islam Hasan, head of BRAC's migration programme, said the returnee migrant workers are facing ticket-related problems from the beginning of the resumption of air flights.
The government should take effective measures to resolve the crisis, he said.
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