Bangladesh plans to crack down on illegal foreign workers

The government of Bangladesh on June 4, in its budget proposal for the fiscal year of 2016-2016 to be started from July, 1, said that loacl companies, firms or individuals would have to pay as much as 50 per cent of their total payable income tax, or Tk 5 lakh, whichever is higher, as a fine for employing unapproved foreign nationals. 

Legal actions against the employeer will also be taken for employing foreign nationals without work permits from the Board of Investment and other competent authorities including Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority and NGO Affairs Bureau. 

Finance minister AMA Muhith placed the proposal before the Bangladesh parliament or Jatiyo Sangshad, related to imposition of penalty, cancellation of tax holiday and other tax exemptions facilities along with legal punishment up to three years in jail, but not less than three months. 

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated country in the world with 160 million people suffers acute unemployment. amongest the country's eligible manpower who are desperately seeking employment even in abroad.

Though there is no clear statistic on the number of foreigners working in the country, unofficial estimates, however, vary from two lakh to five lakh foreign nationals, mainly from neighbouring India, Pakistan, China and Sri Lanka, and many from African and Western countries. 

They mainly work in Bangladesh particularly in readymade garment industry, buying houses, liaison offices of multinational companies, IT, different joint-venture companies and other manufacturing industries.

Board of Investment data shows that only around 12,000 foreign nationals are working in the country with work permits from the board. A few thousand more foreigners are working in the country with permission from the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority and a few hundred with permission from the NGO Affairs Bureau.

In 2013, India’s largest circulated technology magazine Siliconindia said in a report that a total of five lakh Indians were working in Bangladesh at that time and sent $3.7 billion in remittance. Bangladesh has become the fifth highest source of annual remittance for India.

They said that most of the foreigners entered Bangladesh on tourist visas and took up jobs with cover provided by local employers.