Govt to deport over 700 foreigners without proper papers

The government is going to send foreigners, whose visa and passports have expired, back to their countries even if it means spending its own money for their return, a minister has said.

Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque revealed the move at the end of a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Law and Order at the Secretariat in Dhaka on Tuesday, reports bdnews24.com.

“There are more than 500-700 foreign immigrants in Bangladesh, whose passports and visas are no longer valid. They are currently living in this country after expiration (of their papers),” Mozammel said.

Gangs of foreigners in Bangladesh often draw public attention for their involvement in money laundering and other crimes, the minister said. “They are scattered across Gulshan, different hotels and other places,” he said.

“The police have their full list. It was decided today that they will all be placed in a camp and then sent back to their countries,” the minister said.

If they do not have the money to go back to their countries, the government will buy them tickets, he added.