Dhaka: Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman today announced that the government has placed the highest importance on enhancing passport and National Identity Card (NID) services for expatriate Bangladeshis, aiming to make them faster, easier, more transparent, and technology-driven.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the Foreign Minister made this statement while responding to a starred question from ruling party lawmaker Mohammad Abdul Malik of the Sylhet-3 constituency in the Jatiya Sangsad. Dr Rahman highlighted the availability of online applications, biometric enrolment, and application-status tracking facilities in Bangladesh missions where e-passport services have been introduced. Despite the missions accepting applications, the Department of Immigration and Passports in Dhaka is responsible for issuing passports. Regular coordination between missions and the department ensures timely passport delivery, with applicants receiving SMS or email notifications once their documents are ready.
Dr Rahman further informed that voter registration and NID issuance services have been initiated through 27 Bangladesh missions across 17 countries, although the Election Commission issues the NIDs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is collaborating with the Election Commission to expand these services to 41 countries. Addressing passport-related issues, particularly for expatriates in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the government has developed short-, medium-, and long-term strategies. A short-term crash programme involves dispatching technically skilled teams from Dhaka to these regions to resolve passport issues.
The government has also rolled out online attestation and e-Apostille services to ease consular services, allowing applicants to receive digital certificates and reducing the associated time and costs. Dr Rahman mentioned an ongoing initiative under the 2026-27 fiscal year's action plan to establish an online system for verifying information related to passports, visas, and birth and death registration certificates. Additionally, an online Grievance Redress System is active at every Bangladesh mission, with plans to bolster it by assigning designated officials to handle complaints and ensure swift resolutions and responses to service recipients' inquiries.