Tension of re-entry visa renewal grips Saudi returnees, demo continues

Hundreds of Saudi returnees continued demonstration on Tuesday at the capital's Karwan Bazar, demanding relaxation of the condition of getting re-entry visas and tickets before expiration of their Iqama. 

Though the visas of many Saudi returnees will expire on September 30, many of them could not manage their required documents to extend the validity of re-entry visas.  

Sultana Jahan, sub-inspector and duty officer of Hatirjheel police station, said, "More than 200 of returnees went to foreign ministry to raise their demands further and many have took position in front of the Dhaka office of Saudia Airlines, the national flag carrier of the Middle Eastern country. "

"The agitated returnees still have not blocked the road today," she added. 

Earlier, many of the returnees claimed that they were not well informed about the proper timing of token distribution for the collection of their flight tickets.

The returnees whose visa and Iqama have already expired are not sure about the procedure of visa renewal.  

They have been protesting over the past few days for tickets to go back to their workplaces in the middle-eastern country. Now, the visa renewal has become a new crisis for them.

Kafil Uddin Mazumder, general secretary of Saudi Visa Service Centre Owners Association, said, "For re-entry visa extension, a worker needs a letter from his employer about extension of leave attested by the Saudi foreign ministry, a photocopy of valid Iqama, and another letter from the General Directorate of Passports."

"All these documents will be provided by the employers to the returnees and they will then have to submit the documents to visa processing agencies."

"However, since these returnees are now in Bangladesh, it is difficult for them to manage all these documents from their employers. So, our foreign ministry should talk to the Saudi Arabian authorities to relax the process," he added.   

Over one lakh Bangladeshi expats got stuck here after returning from abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic. Around 80 percent of them are Saudi returnees, according to Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies.