The government cannot do anything for the thousands of expatriates living in various European countries who have been demanding reducing their age from 10-15 years in passports.
About fifty thousand Bangladeshi expatriates living in Europe are facing legal complexities now. Thousands of them are waging a movement demanding a new passport. The government, however, said it has nothing to do in this regard.
Expatriates claimed that they need new passports having reduced age living illegally in several European countries including Italy, Spain, England, Greece, Sweden, and Germany. They are now disappointed as they do not get a remedy for this problem.
They said, at present, they do not get a work permit without a new passport. Even if they want to stay in those countries, they will have to show a Bangladeshi passport.
Many Bangladeshi people enter Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea or land border showing their age under 18 as it is an easy way to reach Europe. After entering, they are now allowed to stay but not having Bangladeshi passports they can’t become legal in Europe. For almost a year, there was no solution to this problem even though expatriates held various rallies and human chains in front of Bangladesh embassies in their respective countries.
According to Bangladeshi embassies in Europe, they will not accept any age correction application until receiving instructions from the Bangladesh government.
Expatriates have already submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister in this regard.
Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) said, due to the difference between the information of the previous passport and the current NID and birth certificate, expatriates are in trouble when getting a new passport.
According to different Bangladesh embassies in Europe, thousands of expatriates have been protesting in front of the embassy for a long time to correct passport information including age. At least 70 per cent of them have applied to reduce their age to 6-12 years, which is not included in government policies.
A circular issued by the Home Ministry in April 2021 said information change of passport should be considered by NID and birth certificates. A maximum gap of 5 years can be considered in case of a change of age.
Later in December of the same year, another circular issued by the ministry said applicants for passports within Bangladesh could be issued based on the information provided on NID and birth certificates. This circular didn’t say anything about expatriates. For this reason, expatriates face problems with a new passport. They are demanding an amendment to the circular.
A senior official of DIP said those who are abroad only could do the correction of information.
They can’t make any changes to information, he added.
@ The article appeared in print and online versions of The Bangladesh Pratidin on September 17 and has been rewritten in English by Tanvir Raihan and Golam Rosul.
