Govt again urges foreigners without visas to acquire documents by Jan 31

The home ministry once again requested foreign nationals, who are staying or working illegally in the country, to acquire necessary documents by January 31 to stay or work in Bangladesh.

A circular signed by Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury and special assistant to the chief adviser for home affairs, Khuda Baksh Chowdhury, was issued yesterday.

"It is hereby notified to all concerned that many foreign nationals are illegally staying or working in Bangladesh," reads the circular.

The circular warned that foreign nationals illegally staying or working in Bangladesh should acquire their legal papers within the deadline of January 31, 2025.

If they do not acquire legal status with necessary documents by the given date, in accordance with the previously issued warning notice, action will be taken against them according to provisions of The Foreigners Act, 1946, it said.

A similar circular was issued earlier by the Ministry of Home Affairs on December 26.

On December 8, the ministry first advised foreign nationals who are living in Bangladesh without valid visas to promptly take necessary action as per existing regulations, warning that failure to do so would result in legal repercussions.

As of December 13, there are around 1,19,000 foreigners living in Bangladesh.

At least 30,000 foreign nationals, mostly from India and China, are currently residing in Bangladesh with expired visas, according to sources at an intelligence agency and the visa wing of the Department of Immigration and Passports.

As of December 13, around 45,000 Indians were living in Bangladesh, with most of them here in a professional capacity and the rest being students.

A senior official at an intelligence agency, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Daily Star that, "The visas of at least 60 percent of the Indians residing in Bangladesh have expired," suggesting that around 27,000 Indian nationals are staying with expired visas.

Chinese nationals rank second in terms of foreigners living in Bangladesh with expired visas, according to the Special Branch (SB) database.

There are about 10,500 Chinese nationals currently living in Bangladesh, and 40 percent of their visas have expired, said intelligence officials.

The database shows that around 13,000 US nationals are in the country, but many of them hold dual citizenship. Other foreign nationals include 7,500 from the UK, 4,500 from Canada, 3,500 from Nepal, 4,500 from Russia, 4,500 from Japan, 2,500 from Sri Lanka, 2,000 from Pakistan, 2,000 from Italy, 500 from Belarus, 500 from Indonesia, 500 from Japan, 300 from Bhutan, 150 from Portugal, 100 from Finland, and 22 from Argentina.

Additionally, there are 17,928 nationals from other countries, many of whom are from African nations. Apart from Indian and Chinese nationals, around 1,017 South Korean citizens, 187 Sri Lankans, 231 UK citizens, 97 Canadians, and 461 Nigerians are staying in Bangladesh with expired visas.