Shah Alam Nur :
Over 21000 illegal foreigners without obtaining work permits are now working or doing business in Bangladesh, sources say.
Most of these workers are from India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, China and Hong Kong.
They originally come to Bangladesh on tourist visas manage jobs in local readymade garment (RMG) factories, leather, textile and multinational companies, fashion and buying houses and educational institutions and clinics with local help. According to the Board of Investment (BoI) only around 12,000 foreign nationals are doing jobs in Bangladesh after obtaining permits from it.
The illegal foreign workers send their incomes back home through illegal channels such as hundi, depriving the government of huge revenue.
The government, has taken a move to prepare comprehensive data by compiling profiles of foreigners working with different commercial and industrial units in the country, source said.
He said the move was taken, as the number of foreigners working in different commercial and trade organisations has started increasing sharply diminishing job prospect of the locals.
He said citizens from Pakistan and Sri Lanka are also dominating different service sectors. They have been employed by local, joint-venture or cent per cent foreign companies.
He said a significant number of foreigners hailing from China, South Korea, Palestine and Taiwan are also residing here.
