UAE visa cancellations not country-specific: Shama

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam on Thursday said the automatic cancellation of UAE visas was not specific to Bangladesh, clarifying that 626 Bangladeshi nationals, not 5,000 as reported, had been affected.

“This is not a country-specific issue. Citizens of Pakistan, Egypt, the Philippines, Nepal and several other countries have also experienced visa cancellations,” she told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the capital.

Shama and State Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Nurul Haque Nur briefed journalists after an inter-ministerial meeting on the issue.

The state minister said some media reports had claimed that around 5,000 visas of Bangladeshi nationals had been automatically cancelled in the United Arab Emirates.

“However, according to information received from our embassy and the UAE authorities, the actual number as of today’s inter-ministerial meeting is 626,” she said.

Of the affected workers, detailed information on 417 people has already been collected and their cases forwarded to the UAE authorities for renewal of their visas, she added.

The remaining cases will be submitted in phases, she added.

Shama said the Bangladesh missions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai had already contacted the UAE authorities, while further meetings were expected next week. “We hope to receive a positive result,” she said.

The state minister urged Bangladeshi nationals working abroad to strictly comply with the laws of their host countries.

Many migrant workers spend their life savings and sometimes sell land to secure overseas employment, she said, adding that violating local laws through social media activities or other means could expose them to legal action.

“Please refrain from any activity that violates the laws of your host country,” she said.

Shama said the Bangladesh Embassy was also contacting the companies employing the affected workers to determine whether job losses or employer-related issues had led to the visa cancellations.

If employers were responsible for terminating workers and thereby triggering visa cancellations, the missions would explore possible remedies through direct engagement with the companies concerned, she added.

The state minister said the government was also examining the use of forged documents, which harms both individual workers and Bangladesh’s overall overseas labour market.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment are working jointly on the matter, she said.

If required, the government would move to amend the Overseas Employment and Migrants Act, 2013, in consultation with the Ministry of Law to ensure stricter punishment for document fraud.

Shama said the prime minister had discussed the matter with the two ministries and spoken directly with Bangladesh’s ambassador to the UAE to understand the actual situation.

“The prime minister has instructed us to take all necessary remedial measures,” she said.

She also requested the media to verify figures before publishing reports on sensitive migration-related issues.

Shama said the inter-ministerial meeting also reviewed broader visa problems, high migration costs and the activities of dishonest recruiting agencies and brokers.

The government is working to reduce migration costs and prevent workers from falling victim to fraudulent companies and middlemen, she said.

Referring to Bangladeshi nationals detained abroad, Shama said the government had identified 27 Bangladeshis who had completed prison terms in Myanmar and was working to bring them home.

She said coordination with the Arakan Army remained complicated, but Border Guard Bangladesh and other agencies were working on the matter.

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Bangladesh had also recently succeeded in bringing home several nationals detained in Chennai, India, she added.

Shama said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had established a dedicated Migration Wing to address illegal migration and human trafficking.

The government is intensifying efforts to prevent illegal migration to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and other countries, she said, adding that deputy commissioners were being engaged to conduct grassroots-level awareness campaigns.

Immigration authorities have also been instructed to conduct stricter verification of travellers using tourist visas, particularly where people are falsely promised overseas employment after arrival.

The government will soon publish guidelines on what applicants should and should not do while seeking labour or other visas, she said.

Speaking after Shama, State Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Nurul Haque Nur said his ministry would launch a dedicated hotline in Bangladesh for workers whose UAE visas had been cancelled after they returned home on leave.

A separate emergency service line would also be opened in the UAE to register affected workers, identify the nature of their problems and provide appropriate support.

Nur said the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates’ Welfare would maintain close coordination to resolve the matter.

He urged Bangladeshi expatriates to protect the country’s reputation and overseas labour markets by refraining from involvement in the internal political affairs or conflicts of host countries.

Bangladeshis should also avoid posting social media content that might violate the laws of their countries of residence, he said.

Nur said isolated wrongdoing by a few individuals could damage Bangladesh’s image and adversely affect the wider migrant community.

He said producing or submitting forged documents was punishable by up to seven years’ imprisonment under the existing law.

Any fake documents detected would be confiscated, while those producing, submitting or facilitating them would be brought to justice.

The government was also considering amending the relevant laws to ensure stricter enforcement and demonstrate to foreign governments that Bangladesh takes firm legal action against document fraud, he added.