Bangladeshi expatriates in the United Arab Emirates will be the first to get national identity cards with the South Asian nation set to begin the distribution of the NIDs among remittance earners abroad on Monday.
Some three years after the initiative, Bangladeshi expatriates in the UAE will also avail the voter registration.
The NID cards will be formally handed over to the workers on Monday, marking a significant milestone as it is the first time that NID services are being provided to Bangladeshi expatriates abroad, following a three-and-a-half-year effort.
The services will be expanded to Bangladeshi workers in the rest of the Middle East and Europe, Election Commissioner Ahsan Habib Khan said on Saturday.
Many Bangladeshi expatriates cannot send remittances through a legal channel despite their willingness to contribute to the country’s economy because they do not have NIDs. They use illegal channels such as Hundi, he said.
After getting NIDs, they will be able to contribute to increasing the country`s reserves and ensure compliance with legal procedures while they can use many other services, such as mobile banking, he said.
Ahsan Habib will head a four-member delegation of the EC Secretariat and the foreign ministry that will inaugurate the distribution in Abu Dhabi, where over 100 citizens will receive their NIDs following registration.
The process began after the Election Commission decided to offer voter registration and national identity cards to Bangladeshi citizens residing in the UAE.
In May, the commission`s team conducted necessary work, such as training, equipment installation, network setup, and SMS notifications to local mobile numbers.
In June, a pilot programme was launched through the Bangladesh Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Bangladesh Consulate in Dubai.
More expansion
The government has plans to introduce the services in 15 countries where Bangladeshi expatriates are living.
In this regard, Election Commission Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath said: “After the successful pilot work in the UAE, efforts will be made to start NID services for expatriate Bangladeshis in at least 15 countries within the next year.”
Some 15 years ago, demands were made for granting voting rights and issuing NID cards to Bangladeshi expatriates residing in various countries.
The then Election Commission under KM Nurul Huda started the online registration process in Malaysia in November 2019 after overcoming various complications regarding the voter registration of expatriate Bangladeshis.
The initiative was then put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The current commission led by Kazi Habibul Awal once again took the initiative to speed up the work.
Over 5,000 citizens have applied for NID cards in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, UAE, the United Kingdom, and Maldives.
