Dhaka, UAE to reset ties, address visa challenges: Envoy

Chief Adviser’s Special Envoy on International Affairs, Lutfey Siddiqi, has said Bangladesh and the UAE are working on a “comprehensive refresh” of bilateral ties, covering trade, investment, and people-to-people relations, with a key focus on resolving visa-related challenges.

“I had a long, open and frank discussion with Major General Suhail Saeed Al Khaili, Director-General of the UAE Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP),” Siddiqi said on Monday.

He was accompanied by the Bangladesh Ambassador and other embassy officials during the meeting.

According to Siddiqi, UAE authorities expressed concern that Bangladeshis represent over 25% of all visa/residency rule violators, making them the single-largest group of offenders for more than a decade.

He noted that the root causes likely begin at the recruitment stage in Bangladesh, where high migration costs often exceed what workers can reasonably earn abroad. "This creates a vicious cycle," he said.

Siddiqi criticized the lack of serious action from Bangladesh over the years to curb illegal practices and said previous visa relaxations were met with further abuses, including overstaying, ignoring amnesty offers, and the production of forged documents—sometimes even officially attested.

He also cited insights from a UAE-based recruitment agency, which confirmed concerns about misconduct by middlemen since visas partially reopened in March.

Looking ahead, Siddiqi said efforts are underway to categorize different visa types—such as family, spousal, in-country employer transfers, tourist, skilled and unskilled work permits, and seafarer visas—for more targeted reforms.

"In the meantime, we must all do better in tackling these irregularities and their root causes. They cast a long shadow," he added.