Thousands of Bangladeshis mostly migrants run the risk of becoming undocumented due to delays in issuing new machine-readable passports (MRP) as the MRP server of the Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) has crossed the limit of 30 million in June and awaits upgradation. The issue came to the fore in the last couple of weeks as the migrants made numerous complaints about it at a time when they are facing joblessness and uncertainty over life and livelihoods abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The MRP system requires upgrades from time to time. Steps have been taken to upgrade the server and DIP will extend the contract with the Malaysian company concerned. The government earlier planned to introduce e-passports in 2020, but due to the pandemic, little progress was made in this regard. The capacity of the MRP server was exhausted in early June but nobody heeded the system fault in time. No passports were printed in the last four weeks. The Bangladesh high commissions in Malaysia, Singapore, Maldives, and Lebanon even issued circulars saying there was a shortage of passport supply due to a technical issue in the MRP server. The Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia on August 7 in a circular said a huge number of applications were in the pipeline.
With no timely passport delivery, many migrants are unable to apply for work permit renewals. Some are unable even to apply for the recalibration programme [amnesty] meant for the undocumented ones. Migrants could be detained because many of them could not renew work permits. If they lose their jobs or are arrested, who will compensate them? Bangladeshi migrants regularly face various forms of abuse by the brokers, agents and are often denied state services. This time, it is the DIP whose negligence is directly affecting the migrants. The government should compensate the affected migrants and migration aspirants for its sheer negligence and book the responsible group for punishment.
