Dreams of hundreds of thousands of outbound fortune seekers have been shattered over time due to endless corruption of controversial visa processing agency VFS Global.
Some fortune seekers were working in Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates while some were employed in private firms in Bangladesh.
The organisation almost blocked the way of Bangladeshi workers to Italy by creating an artificial crisis in collusion with brokers, according to a report of the daily Kaler Kantho.
Many people have been suffering from endless mental and financial suffering since they did not get a visa for their destination country. VFS Global has allegedly siphoned around $800 million from more than 1 lakh people in the name of visa processing.
Passports of one hundred and eleven thousand workers have been deposited in the embassy in the 16 months from August last year to 2023, according to the Italian Embassy in Dhaka. Some 9,600 passports were submitted to the embassy in the first four months of this year.
The visa process has to be completed within three months after the verification of the authenticity of the information as per rules, but the passports of Bangladeshi workers have been stuck for 16 months or more.
Although Italian Ambassador Antonio Alessandro assured that the stuck passports would be resolved within two to three months to resolve the crisis, the situation did not improve. As a result, the workers who want to go to Italy are now not only living an inhumane life, with some of them are forced to choose various types of small jobs.
One of them is Mohammad Apu from Naogaon who received NullaOsta (permit) on
17 May last year through sending Tk13.5 lakh which he managed by borrowing.
However, he could not go to Italy as VFS Global did not deliver his passport even after eight months.
“In May last year, I paid Tk13.5 lakh taka for getting the permit, but I am still waiting for that. I go to VFS Global’s office at Gulshan-1 four days a week, but the problem has not been solved,” Apu said.
Another victim, Mukta Howladar from Pirojpur, has been struggling to get a passport to go to Italy with her husband Ratan Baral.
They have been suffering for a long time as their passports are being held hostage by VFS. They face significant pressure, caught between mounting family expenses and the burden of debt for necessities.
“We had to pay Tk8 lakh but could not get an appointment due to various complications. We submitted our passports in Chattogram in August last year and have not received it back yet,” Mukta told media.
Regarding the corruption of VFS Global, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman has urged the government to take quick action.
“Organisations like VFS have recently been given the responsibility of processing visas. Their role is to ensure that people travelling to European countries are not victims of fraud or harassment. Embassies or governments of various countries entrust such institutions with this responsibility during their cost crises,” he said.
He further mentioned that those who manipulate the entire system by taking it under their control and harassing people should be brought under accountability.
Iftekharuzzaman has suggested raising more public awareness of the fraudulence of visa processing agencies.
BDST: 0943 HRS, MAY 22, 2024
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