Govt to collect returnee migrants’ data for future support: Expatriates’ minister

Expatriates' Welfare Minister Imran Ahmad today said the government has decided to collect data on returnee migrant workers at immigration and preserve those for providing the returnees with different support in the future.

For this purpose, a five-member committee has been formed comprising of the expatriates' welfare ministry, home ministry, foreign ministry, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, and the Department of Immigration and Passports, the minister said.

The committee will work to ensure quick data management in the immigration's system, Imran Ahmad said after an inter-ministerial meeting held virtually this afternoon, according to a press release.

Additional secretary (security and immigration) of the Security Services Division of the home ministry will be the convener of the committee, the minister also said.

The meeting was held to find a way to develop an integrated database on returnee migrant workers, said the release.

Imran Ahmad, who chaired the meeting, said preserving detailed information of returnee migrant workers was a necessity for their socio-economic reintegration.

He also said the information can be on when the worker went abroad, what type of job they were involved in, for how long they had been home, and what type of work they want to do in the country.

Migrant workers are contributing significantly in the country's economy by sending remittance, the minister added.