The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) will start issuing visas for Bangladeshi domestic workers from tomorrow, the KSA labour ministry made the announcement on April 13, reported Arab News.
Starting with the domestic workers, the Kingdom will gradually issue visas for the other category of workers.
A senior official of Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh, requesting anonymity, also confirmed the news to this reporter over phone yesterday.
The official further said the KSA government will issue work visas for Bangladeshis in 12 categories.
Meanwhile, Khandaker Md Iftekhar Haider, secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare & Overseas Employment told the Dhaka Tribune that he did not get any information regarding the visa issuance yet.
He, however, said Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh was upbeat about the KSA starting to issue work visas for Bangladeshis.
“I expect it will be resumed very soon,” the secretary said further adding that they had already provided names of 100 recruitment agencies as per KSA’s request of 200 names.
Saudi Arabia recently lifted a 2008 ban on recruiting workers from Bangladesh. KSA deputy labour minister for international affairs Ahmed Al-Fahaid and Bangladesh Expatriates’ Welfare Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain signed an agreement in Dhaka two months earlier making way for aspirant Bangladeshi workers to getting KSA work visa again.
For the first time, the Bureau of Manpower, Employment & Training (BMET) has arranged residential training for 80 aspirant female domestic workers.
The training, scheduled to begin on April 21, is expected to equip them with necessarily skills needed for the Saudi domestic work, informed the secretary.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
