Saudi Arabia to take back Bangladeshi workers if they've work permits

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) government will take back all the Bangladeshi workers, who got stranded after returning home due to Covid-related restrictions, provided they have valid work permits.

Charge d' Affaires of the Saudi Embassy in Dhaka, Yahiya Al Karni, said this on Monday.

"Two weeks ago, we've started a process, so that all the stranded Bangladeshi workers can return to Saudi Arabia to join their work," the Saudi envoy said.

The KSA, the largest employer of the Bangladeshi expatriate workers, has extended the tenure of visas and work permits of the Bangladeshi workers, stranded here at home.

An estimated 11 million Bangladeshis are now working abroad. Of them, over 2.2 million are employed in Saudi Arabia.

If necessary, there can be a further extension of visa and iqama (work permit) to facilitate the return of the Bangladeshi workers to Saudi Arabia, he added.

However, the envoy, responding to a question, made it clear that if the employer concerned does not agree to renew work permits, or does not issue fresh work permits for a Bangladeshi worker, the worker concerned will not be eligible for a visa.

"Everything depends on the sponsors or employers. These are all private companies. If they do not want to employ anyone, we cannot do anything about it," he explained.

A large number of Saudi-bound Bangladeshi workers have been crowding the airlines' offices in Dhaka, blocking the roads around a posh hotel, for the last few days.

When asked about this, the Saudi envoy said, "We now have limited number of flights, to and from Saudi Arabia. We have requested the Bangladesh government to increase the number of flights."

Recently, the number of flights has been increased from four to 20 per week. But Saudi officials here in Bangladesh opine that it should be increased more to absorb the pressure.

Commenting on this, a senior official of the foreign ministry said Bangladesh is ready to raise the number of flights in line with the Saudi requirement.

The Saudi Embassy was told to send a note verbal, citing their flight requirements. The government's decision is to allocate as many flights as needed to resolve the crisis being faced by the Saudi-bound workers, he added.

In 2019-20 fiscal year, Bangladesh received US$ 18.3 billion as remittance from expatriates, of which the expatriates in Saudi Arabia contributed $ 4.01 billion.

The second biggest contribution was from the UAE with $ 2.47 billion, followed by the US with $ 2.4 billion.