New law to curb free visa trading

The Parliament will this week vote on a draft law that will impose stricter penalties on those involved in selling work visas. According to the new law, fines will be increased from the existing BD1,000 to BD8,000 apart from one year imprisonment. MP Adel Al Asoomi said the proposed law aims at eliminating visa trade along with reducing the number of illegal expatriates who flee their work places. Sources say the price of a free visa in the black market varies between BD1,200 and BD2,000. In addition, the buyer will have to pay Labour Market Regulatory Authority and insurance fees. Khursheed, a Bangladesh national, told Tribune that he bought a free visa for BD1,200 from the black market and had to pay additional BD520 towards other expenses.

In 2015, Nationality, Passport and Residence Affairs reported 2,587 residency violations that had occurred between 2013 and 2015 after conducting 759 inspections to different locations.