Many Bangladeshi and Nepalese expats yet to switch to new passports

It's been one year for the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) deadline to convert all handwritten passports but still a number of Bangladeshis and Nepalese have yet to replace their old documents with the machine-readable passports (MRP).

Mohammed Sumon Miah, a Bangladeshi cleaner, works at the Saudi border and was not aware of the deadline to convert the old style passports. Anwar Ahmad / The National

ABU DHABI // More than a year after Bangladeshi and Nepalese citizens were instructed to convert their old, handwritten passports to the new machine-readable documents, many have yet to make the switch.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) gave November 24 last year as the deadline to convert the old style passports. However, some people claim they were either not told of the change or their companies were withholding their passports.

“I work at the Saudi border and I was not aware of this conversion,” said Mohammed Sumon Miah, a Bangladeshi cleaner who came to his embassy to submit his old passport.

“When my countrymen informed me about this I started asking my company but it didn’t give me days off to come to Abu Dhabi and deposit it,” Mr Miah said whose handwritten passport expired in July.

“It’s been five years since I travelled home and I didn’t know that this passport wouldn’t not be accepted at the airport,” the 28-year old said.

Stone mason Milon Khan was also unaware of the changes.

“Today I deposit my passport and hope that I would get in within two months,” said the Bangladeshi who was handing in his old passport that expired in July, 2013.

More than 600,000 passports have so far been converted, said Bangladesh ambassador to the UAE, Muhammad Imran. He urged Bangladeshis in the UAE to replace their old documents.

By end of last month, the Embassy of Nepal in Abu Dhabi had delivered 79,490 new passports to its citizens in the UAE.

“Very few people come with their old passport, we have replaced almost all old versions of documents in the UAE and many Nepalese who travelled back home converted it there,” said Krishna Aryal, information officer at the Nepal embassy in Abu Dhabi,

“Nowadays we deliver in 15 days the new passports. People can’t travel with old documents after November 24 last year.”

More than 200,000 Nepalese live and work in the UAE and between 600,000 and 700,000 Bangladeshis.

“My boss didn’t give me my passport for last two years that’s why I could come to convert it,” said Munna Sheikh Gazi, who works as a waiter in Abu Dhabi. “He just gave me now so I came for the conversion.”

Mr Gazi’s old passport expired in August 2014.

“I have requested him many times but he refused to handover my passport. Now when I told him I am going to be in big trouble if it’s not replaced and I wouldn’t able to travel, then he gave it back,” Mr Gazi said.