Ministry creating databank on stranded migrant workers

The expatriates' welfare ministry is creating a databank on returned and stranded migrant workers whose work permits and visas have expired and they cannot rejoin their works abroad.

The ministry has taken the initiative so that it can provide necessary support to the workers to help them return to their job destination countries, said a press release, issued by the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment on Tuesday.

The workers, who are willing to return to their job destination countries have been asked for registering their names on the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) website immediately.

The link of the BMET website is www.old.bmet.gov.bd/BMET/returnMigrant.

Workers will be able to complete registration on computers or smart phones, the press release said.

Workers need not pay any charge for the registration, it said.

However, nearly 100,000 workers returned home 'on leave' but most of them could not return to the job destination countries so far.

The majority of them returned from Saudi Arabia on leave before outbreak of the coronavirus and are facing uncertainty about their return to those job destinations. Besides, workers returned from Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, etc.

They could not go back to their job destination countries to rejoin works due to travel ban, imposed by employing countries. The validity of visas and Iqama of many workers has already expired.

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