Labour migration from Bangladesh to several major overseas destinations, including Malaysia and the UAE, has remained stalled for years, leaving tens of thousands of aspiring migrant workers in uncertainty.
Apart from Malaysia and the UAE, Oman and Bahrain either shut or restricted Bangladeshi workers’ entry to their labour markets, with no clear timeline for reopening. This has left Bangladesh heavily reliant on a single destination — Saudi Arabia — which, according to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), has absorbed around 30 lakh Bangladeshi workers into its labour market over the last five years.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel.Experts warn that the situation could worsen, as rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, particularly the US-Israel war on Iran, threaten regional stability and economic activity. Any escalation could disrupt labour demand in Gulf countries, further shrinking employment opportunities for Bangladeshi migrants.
BMET data shows that 11.31 lakh Bangladeshis went abroad for work last year. Of them, 754,671 or 66.72 percent went to Saudi Arabia.
In fiscal 2024-25, Bangladesh received $30.32 billion in remittances, of which $4.26 billion or 14 percent came from migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, according to Bangladesh Bank data.
Experts say such heavy reliance on a single market raises economic risks for Bangladesh.
Industry insiders have pointed out several key reasons for the weakening of Bangladesh’s labour migration system — fraudulent practices in the migration process, aggressive recruitment, bribes for visas and syndicate control.
MALAYSIA: NO BREAKTHROUGH
Nearly 450,000 Bangladeshi workers migrated to Malaysia between August 2022 and April 2024 after the country reopened its labour market in 2021.
However, more than 18,000 workers missed their departure deadline and remain stranded.
Upon taking office, the interim government held a series of talks with the Malaysian authorities and urged them to resume recruitment. During a visit to Malaysia, the then adviser Asif Nazrul said the country would recruit a large number of workers from Bangladesh.
Instead, Malaysia imposed 10 stringent conditions for recruiting workers.
Several high-level meetings, including one involving Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during his Dhaka visit in October 2024, produced assurances but no concrete results.
Expressing his frustration, one of the stranded workers, Khijir Islam from Manikganj, said, “We have been hearing promises for months. How long are we supposed to wait?”
UAE RESTRICTIONS
The UAE, Bangladesh’s second-largest labour market in the Middle East, has remained largely shut since 2013. Unofficial estimates suggest that around 12 lakh Bangladeshis currently work there.
In July 2024, the UAE quietly restricted both work and visit visas after some migrants protested there in solidarity with the quota reform movement in Bangladesh.
During the World Governments Summit in Dubai last year, Muhammad Yunus, the then chief adviser, urged UAE ministers to lift the ban, but no progress followed.
An official from the expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry confirmed that no visit or work visas were issued last year, indicating that the restrictions remain in place.
Many workers aspiring to go the UAE are on the verge of losing hope. One of them is Abdul Hashim from Khulna.
“I submitted my passport more than a year ago, but my application for a work visa has not been processed yet,” he told this correspondent.
SHRINKING MARKETS
Over the past decade, Oman, Bahrain, the Maldives, Libya, and Brunei have periodically closed their labour markets to Bangladeshi workers.
Oman suspended recruitment in September 2024 due to document forgery and violations of visa conditions, while the Maldives halted visas, citing irregularities.
Prof Tasneem Siddiqui, acting executive director of the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit, said there should be a proper study to identify the causes of these closures.
“Accountability must be ensured if recruiting agencies send workers abroad without job confirmation.”
She underscored the need for strengthening pre‑migration training and aligning workers with suitable jobs.
Shariful Hasan, associate director of BRAC’s Migration and Youth Initiatives Programme, said Bangladesh’s labour market is shrinking day by day due to fraud, visa “trade”, and poor governance.
He further said that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East could further disrupt labour demand.
“If conflicts involving Iran, Israel and the US escalate, it could affect regional economies and reduce labour recruitment in Gulf countries,” he warned.
Pointing out Bangladesh’s heavy dependence on Saudi labour market, he said, “Any shock to that market would put enormous pressure on Bangladesh’s labour sector and remittance flow.”
Ali Haider Chowdhury, former secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies, said that during the interim government’s tenure, no meaningful steps were taken to reopen closed markets.
“Promises were made, but the final result was zero,” he said.
GOVT PLAN
Md Nurul Haque, state minister for expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment, said the government is making diplomatic efforts to reopen overseas labour markets, including Bahrain, Oman and the UAE.
Regarding the Malaysian labour market, he said a list of companies, which have met the recruitment conditions, has already been sent to the Malaysian authorities, but they are yet to respond.
The government will step up efforts to expand opportunities for skilled migration, he said, citing an agreement to send 100,000 workers to Japan over five years.
However, experts warn that unless Bangladesh reforms its overseas recruitment system and diversifies labour destinations, ongoing geopolitical instability and market closures could place even greater pressure on the country’s overseas employment sector.
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/labour-migration-hits-wall-several-key-markets-shut-4138856
