Ordeals of passport applicants

That bribery and corruption are rampant in various government offices is a common perception, and it is periodically substantiated by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) through the publication of various survey results. For example, the latest TIB household study, which surveyed 15,515 households, revealed that 70.9 per cent of respondents encountered corruption while seeking services between May 2023 and April 2024. According to TIB's estimate, the total amount of bribes at the national level in 2023 was a whopping Tk 109.02 billion, equivalent to 1.4 per cent of the revised national budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year and 0.2 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

The survey identified the Department of Immigration and Passports as the most corruption-prone sector, followed closely by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, land services, public healthcare, and local government institutions. 

The scale of the problem is evident in the widespread bribery at passport offices. However, some positive developments have also occurred, notably the decentralisation of passport offices to meet growing demand and ease the pressure on applicants. The introduction of an online application process has significantly simplified the previously cumbersome and complex analogue system. Applicants can now apply for a passport online from the comfort of their homes and pay the fees through mobile banking services or at the nearest bank branch.

But the applicants still need to visit the passport office to submit supportive documents, for biometrics, and then to collect their passports. On every occasion they have to stand in long queues for hours. Moreover, infestation of brokers who offer quick service in exchange for a fee presents an extremely unpleasant sight. Needless to say, the long queues, menacing brokers and police clearance kickbacks don't go well with the spirit of digitalisation.

As a result, long queues of passport-seekers can be seen at the passport office on every working day at almost every regional and divisional passport office. From children to senior citizens, none is spared the nightmarish experience of standing in long queues.

Recently, a passport seeker shared his unpleasant experience at the regional passport office in Uttara with this scribe. He explained that after submitting the online application and paying the fee through MFS, he and his father went to the passport office at the scheduled date and time. However, upon arrival, they were informed that they would need to stand in a long queue of passport applicants to submit the physical documents, despite having already uploaded them online.

What makes matters worse is that many fake passport applicants (brokers and their assistants) stand in the line and sell their spots to genuine applicants, as if doing them a favour. No doubt, brokers can expedite the process through this system of kickback with the connivance of passport office officials.

The ordeal of passport seekers, however, doesn't end with the completion of the application process. After that comes the harassment of police verification. The passport office sends the documents of passport seekers to the Special Branch (SB) office for verification, presumably to confirm whether the applicants are "genuine citizens of Bangladesh."  Even after applicants submit their documents, including NIDs, birth registration certificates, academic certificates, and other necessary papers, the requirement for police verification to confirm whether they are "genuine citizens" appears to be nothing more than a sham.

During the verification process, an officer from the SB branch of the police is supposed to visit both the present and permanent addresses of the applicants. However, in practice, the officer typically calls the applicants and asks them to meet near the police station. The officer then demands the same set of documents that have already been submitted to the passport office-twice (once online and once physically)-and shamelessly demands some 'khorchapati' (speed money) to complete the verification process. Only the victims can genuinely feel the tormenting experience of passport-seekers.

All the hassles and the corruption involved could be avoided with the full digitalisation of public services, effective management of offices, transparent service delivery, and accountability of officials. It is about time the authorities took decisive action to stop the rot.

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