Bangladeshi diplomatic missions in the Kingdom have so far processed the applications of 700,000 expats for the issuance of new passports and the renewal of passports, out-passes and travel permits. A senior official from the Bangladesh Embassy told Arab News Monday that a large group of officials from Dhaka was deputed to assist mission officials in Riyadh and Jeddah to complete formalities on time. “The officials have now left and we are working with our mission staff,” he said. “We have a few thousand more workers who do not have any documents to process their applications,” he said, adding that the mission has taken up resolving these problems before the amnesty comes to an end on Nov. 3. The missions conducted several job fairs to attract employers for placement of illegal expatriates. “They yielded good results since thousands of Bangladeshis found jobs through these channels. We mediated between the employers and the employees and we provided a platform for job negotiations,” the official said, describing the events as highly successful. Bangladeshi expats secured jobs through these fairs in various posts such as office assistants, plumbers, drivers, electricians and cleaners. Representatives from more than 100 Kingdom-based companies were present to pick their prospective employees at these job fairs organized by the missions. “We even took part in the week-long job fair organized by the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Riyadh Exhibition Center,” he noted, adding that the expatriates were able to connect to their prospective employers. “The two parties discussed salaries for their respective jobs, the mode of iqama transfer and regularization of residency status,” he said, adding that the fair created enthusiasm among both Saudi employers and Bangladeshi workers. In addition to consular services offered in Riyadh, the Bangladesh Embassy also organized 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 home to some 1.8 million Bangladeshi expatriates. The Ministries of Labor and Interior have issued stern warnings to illegal expatriates to complete their formalities in time to avoid arrest by teams of inspectors who will take to the field once the amnesty expires.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 23:32:04 +0000
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