In the past decade, nearly 700,000 Bangladeshi migrants have returned home after becoming undocumented abroad, despite initially going through legal channels. On average, each migrant spends around BDT 500,000 to go abroad. That means, families of those who returned empty-handed have spent a staggering BDT 340 billion in total. Apart from visa fees and airfare, most of this money ends up in the pockets of recruiting agents or middlemen. And the migrants, who left home hoping for a better future, came back only to become a burden on their families.
Ikramul Haque from Bhulain Dakshin Union in Lalmai upazila of Cumilla spent BDT 500,000 to go to Saudi Arabia in 2023. That money came from his savings, loans, and what he borrowed from relatives. He handed over the money to brokers who promised him a job and legal documents. But things did not go as planned. Within two years, he was back in Bangladesh after spending time in jail for being undocumented.
Ikramul Haque shared with Bonik Barta, “I went to Saudi Arabia on a so-called free visa. The brokers promised I’d get an Iqama (residence permit) and a decent job. But it was all false hope. I became undocumented shortly after arriving. I ended up in jail and eventually returned home empty-handed.”
The Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) keeps records of those who go abroad through legal channels. According to their data, more than 8 million Bangladeshis migrated as overseas workers between 2015 and 2024. However, the government has no record of how many of them return.
On the other hand, data from the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board and the non-governmental organization BRAC shows that between 2015 and 2024, at least 673,570 Bangladeshis came back home with outpasses—meaning they returned after becoming undocumented. And every year, that number keeps going up.
According to available data, 56,674 Bangladeshis returned home on outpasses in 2015. The following year, the number dropped to 41,626. But from there, it started climbing again—50,163 in 2017; 68,812 in 2018; 64,635 in 2019 and 45,984 in 2020. The numbers have increased rapidly in recent years. 72,609 migrants returned in 2021 with outpasses. In 2022, that number surged to 97,913. In 2023, it was 86,621. And 88,868 more migrants, who initially left the country legally, later returned as undocumented by 2024.
Compared to Bangladesh, countries like India and Pakistan spend far less when sending workers to the Middle East or other major labor markets. According to the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), it costs a Bangladeshi worker about BDT 500,000 on average to go abroad. That means the total cost for migrants who returned on outpasses over the past decade adds up to at least BDT 340 billion.
Currently, there are 2,797 government-approved recruiting agencies in Bangladesh. But many migrants also go through unofficial brokers or middlemen. After excluding visa fees and airfare, most of the money these workers spend ends up in the hands of recruiters or brokers.
Experts say that although these workers went abroad legally through proper channels, many lost their jobs or legal work status once they got there. Some continued to stay without valid documents, while others were victims of fraud. There are also cases where migrants returned within six months despite having legal paperwork, simply because they could not find any work.
According to the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Malaysia, and Oman are the top countries that send undocumented Bangladeshis back. In 2024 alone, 50,231 Bangladeshis returned from Saudi Arabia with outpasses, compared to 58,897 in 2023. The UAE sent back 7,227 migrants in 2024 and 7,923 the year before. From Malaysia, 6,971 migrants returned in 2024 and 3,008 in 2023. Oman sent back 8,051 in 2024 and 6,347 in 2023. Kuwait returned 4,423 migrants in 2024 and 1,861 in 2023. From Qatar, 3,127 returned in 2024 and 2,097 in 2023.
Migration experts point out that it is usually the host country that facilitates the return of undocumented workers. Sometimes the employer or company pays for the ticket; other times, the worker bears the cost themselves. Most of those who return lack proper documents—some never got jobs, some lost their visas or passports, and others were deported due to legal issues. And this cycle repeats year after year, with thousands of migrants returning home empty-handed.
Dr. Tasneem Siddiqui, Chairperson of the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), told Bonik Barta, “For years, this sector has been beyond regulation. One big reason is that many members of recruiting agencies have been ministers, MPs, or political leaders themselves. They’ve been directly involved in decision-making. The way they send people abroad is flawed from the very beginning. In the destination countries, middlemen have built networks that are only focused on making money—not helping migrants get jobs. That’s why many workers end up returning empty-handed. At the end of the day, this whole system has become a money-making machine for a small group. And since this money eventually reaches bureaucrats and policymakers too, nothing ever really changes.”
She added, “From our own research, we’ve seen that many migrant workers return after just three, six, or eight months. There’s a cycle at play. A group gives someone a short-term job, and when the authorities catch on, the worker is sent back. Then they recruit a new person. It’s a business model that’s no different from human trafficking. We have to crack down hard on this network.”
According to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, the government has set official migration costs for each country. For Saudi Arabia, it’s BDT 165,000; for Malaysia, BDT 78,990; for Singapore (including training), BDT 262,270; for Libya, BDT 145,780; for Bahrain, BDT 97,780; for the UAE, BDT 107,780; for Kuwait, BDT 106,780; for Oman, BDT 100,780; for Iraq, BDT 129,540; for Qatar, BDT 100,780; for Jordan, BDT 102,780; for Egypt, BDT 120,780; for the Maldives, BDT 115,780; and for Lebanon, BDT 117,780.
However, when workers go abroad through brokers or middlemen, they often end up paying up to five times more than the government-approved rate. This issue was also flagged in a recent Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) report. The ACC filed cases against 32 owners and officials of 12 recruiting agencies for embezzling over BDT 11.28 billion from 67,380 workers who were sent to Malaysia. Among those named are former minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, former MP Nizam Uddin Hazari, and former IGP of Bangladesh Police Benazir Ahmed.
Even the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) confirmed these inflated costs in a recent migration expense survey. According to their findings, an unskilled migrant spends an average of BDT 478,000, while a skilled worker spends around BDT 427,000 to secure a job abroad.
One of the many migrants who returned from Malaysia using an outpass is Chan Mia from Burichang Upazila in Cumilla. He used to work as an electrician under a Malaysian company. Although he went there legally, his visa became invalid due to expiry complications. That forced him into undocumented status. Eventually, he was arrested and spent a month in jail.
Sharif Hossain from Narsingdi had a similar experience. He also traveled to Malaysia through legal channels, only to return home later after paying a fine for being undocumented. Sharif recently shared his story with Bonik Barta. He said, “I went to Malaysia in December 2022 through a broker. I got a company visa and paid BDT 450,000 for it. They promised me an electrician’s job, but instead, I was put into construction. Even that job lasted just three months. After that, I was jobless and kept at a hotel for a few days. When I protested about being left unemployed, they handed me over to the police. I had to pay a fine of 5,000 Ringgit (around BDT 140,000) and buy my own return ticket.”
According to Barrister Md Golam Sorwar Bhuiyan, Director General of the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board, there is a concerning trend of criminal behavior among some of the workers returning on outpasses. Speaking to Bonik Barta, he said, “Many of those going to the Middle East end up overstaying their visas. Eventually, they become undocumented and are sent back. Often, their passports remain with their employer or company. Some even go to Europe on tourist visas hoping to stay, but when that doesn’t work out, they return on an outpass. We try to provide them with legal support. But to avoid these situations, people need to be more aware. The government is working on it.”
For the past three years, Bangladesh has been facing a dollar crisis. Foreign currency reserves have been under pressure due to rising import payments and interest payments on external debt. However, remittances—money sent home by migrant workers—have played a key role in stabilizing the reserves. Since the student-led mass uprising, the country has seen a significant jump in remittance inflows. In March alone, migrant workers sent home $3.29 billion—the highest monthly remittance in the country’s history.
According to data from the Bangladesh Bank, in the first nine months (July to March) of the current 2024–25 fiscal year, the country received $21.78 billion in remittances. That is roughly BDT 2.65 trillion, based on an exchange rate of BDT 122 per dollar. During the same period in the previous fiscal year, remittances totaled $17.07 billion. This indicates that migrant workers have sent about $4.71 billion more this year, a growth of nearly 27.6 percent. Officials say remittance growth has continued into April as well. Experts believe that if the large number of workers who went abroad over the past decade had found stable employment, the remittance flow would have been even stronger.