Bangladesh asks foreigners residing illegally to obtain visa by January 31 or face legal actions

Dhaka: The interim government on Monday asked foreigners residing illegally in Bangladesh without a valid visa to obtain the document by January 31, warning that those who fail to do so will face legal actions.

Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd.) Jahangir Alam said that many foreign nationals are residing in Bangladesh without a visa. Many of them are also engaged in jobs, he added.

He set a deadline of January 31 for them to acquire the visa to avoid “legal actions”. Alam made the comments while visiting the central Passport Office in the capital.

According to the Prothom Alo newspaper, the adviser said that any foreigner staying in Bangladesh without a valid visa would be deported to their country.

Alam, however, did not name any country whose nationals are staying without a valid visa.

But, he said many Rohingyas, who were extended makeshift refuge in Bangladesh to escape persecution in their homeland in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, managed to secure Bangladeshi passports through illegal means.