Illegal migration, overstaying visas, and travelling abroad using forged documents have become major challenges for Bangladesh, with recruiting agencies identified as one of the key contributors. During the tenure of the ousted Awami League government, the sector was widely accused of generating large volumes of black money. There were even specific allegations of involvement by several senior ministers, including the then-finance minister.
As a result of these practices, opportunities for Bangladeshis to migrate abroad through legal channels have gradually narrowed. When the interim government assumed office, there were expectations that governance would improve in the sector and that regulation and accountability would be strengthened. Those expectations, however, have not been met. Instead, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment—headed by Adviser Asif Nazrul—has approved licences for an additional 252 recruiting agencies.
In 2025, expatriate Indians remitted more than $135 billion, compared with $31 billion sent to Bangladesh. India has 1,988 recruiting agencies in the manpower export sector. According to data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), Bangladesh currently has 2,646 recruiting agencies. This is the highest number not only in South Asia but also unusually high compared with other major labour-exporting countries.
During the tenure of the current interim government, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment has approved recruiting licences for 252 new firms. A list of these institutions, approved on November 4, 2025, and signed by a deputy secretary, was published by the ministry. In the past, the number of recruiting agencies in Bangladesh was limited to between 850 and 900. Towards the end of the Awami League government’s tenure, however, the figure rose to 2,300. The White Paper Committee on Bangladesh’s economic situation, in its report published in December 2024, recommended reducing the number of recruiting agencies to a rational level. Despite this, licences for 252 new agencies have since been approved.
Migration experts say issuing new licences runs counter to the stated objective of reducing the number of agencies. They argue that cutting the number is essential to protect migrant workers from human trafficking, ensure financial transparency, and strengthen accountability, good governance, and oversight in the sector. Following the political transition, there were high expectations that the interim government would focus on sending skilled workers abroad, reopening closed labour markets, exploring new destinations, protecting migrant workers’ rights, and curbing harassment, fraud, and the dominance of middlemen.
The economic white paper notes that because almost all recruiting agencies are based in Dhaka, they rely on brokers or sub-agents at the grassroots level to recruit workers. This system lacks transparency and allows some agencies and sub-agents to engage in fraud while shifting blame to each other to evade accountability. During the Awami League era, political patronage enabled many agencies to become powerful, forming syndicates in worker deployment and engaging in various irregularities. The report further states that over the past decade, approximately BDT 13.5 trillion has been transferred through hundi transactions in the migration sector—largely under the guise of visa purchases facilitated by recruiting agencies.
According to Bhutan’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Employment, the country has only 31 recruiting agencies, of which just four are currently active. Data from the ministries of relevant countries show that Pakistan has 2,545 recruiting agencies, Nepal 1,041, and Sri Lanka 857.
Many recruiting agencies in Bangladesh face allegations of involvement in human trafficking. Experts say inadequate government oversight and weak governance in the sector have left prospective migrants vulnerable to fraud and harassment, while simultaneously damaging Bangladesh’s image abroad. The country’s passport ranking has deteriorated, and obtaining visas for various destinations has become increasingly difficult.
Bangladeshi migrants also incur the highest migration costs in South Asia. According to the white paper, 19 percent of workers who paid partial fees to agencies or brokers over the past decade ultimately failed to migrate. The resulting financial loss for these unsuccessful aspirants is estimated at $2.59 billion.
Each year, thousands of complaints are filed against recruiting agencies. Data from BMET show that 2,213 complaints were lodged in 2024, 2,380 in 2023, 1,240 in 2022, 582 in 2021, and 905 in 2020.
Despite record remittance inflows last year, stakeholders say there has been little visible progress in reducing migration costs, curbing the dominance of brokers, stopping irregular migration, or safeguarding migrant workers’ rights. Adviser to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, Dr. Asif Nazrul, has spoken of building a hospital in Gulshan with expatriates’ ownership for their welfare, but the initiative has yet to materialise. Notably, 167.28 kathas of land under the Wage Earners’ Welfare Board in Gulshan have remained unused for two decades, despite an approved master plan for a 300-bed modern hospital.
As legal migration options shrink, irregular migration has increased. According to the International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), Bangladesh topped the list of countries with the highest number of irregular sea crossings into Europe in 2025. Last year, 22,145 Bangladeshis entered various European countries through non-traditional routes, up from 15,304 the previous year. Most are reported to have travelled through brokers, with many falling victim to human trafficking.
Cases filed over human trafficking are monitored by the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Official data show that between 2019 and January 2025, a total of 4,546 cases were filed, naming 19,280 accused. Only 157 convictions have been secured to date, including 24 life sentences and 133 other jail terms.
BMET data show that around 1.13 million (1,131,113) Bangladeshi workers went abroad last year, of whom 754,629—nearly 70 percent—travelled to Saudi Arabia alone. In comparison, around 1.01 million (1,011,969) workers went abroad in 2024, around 1.30 million (1,305,453) in 2023, and around 1.13 million (1,135,873) in 2022.
According to BMET, over the past 12 years, labour markets for Bangladeshi workers have closed in Oman, Bahrain, Libya, Sudan, Egypt, Romania, and Brunei. Malaysia suspended recruitment due to syndicate-driven practices during the Awami League era. Although the United Arab Emirates has not formally closed its labour market, it has stopped issuing worker visas since July 2024. In 2019, 9,266 Bangladeshi workers migrated to Iraq, after which visa issuance effectively ceased. In October last year, Bangladesh and Iraq signed a memorandum of understanding at a joint committee meeting to resume recruitment. Additionally, two memoranda of understanding were signed during the Chief Adviser’s visit to Japan in May last year, with the Japanese government announcing plans to recruit at least 100,000 Bangladeshi workers over five years to address labour shortages. However, only 1,563 workers went to Japan in 2025.
Everyone has the right to obtain a licence in accordance with government rules, said Fakhrul Islam, former joint secretary general (most recent committee) of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), the organisation representing manpower exporters. Speaking to Bonik Barta, he said, “The government issues licences after applying certain criteria and conducting various types of scrutiny. About 450 applications were likely submitted, of which 252 licences have been approved. The entry of new agencies has both positive and negative implications for the labour market. On the positive side, licensing helps bring many actors within a legal framework. When someone who previously worked as a middleman obtains a licence, they come under government regulation.”
Fakhrul Islam added, “An increase in the number of agencies expands sourcing channels for sending workers abroad, as different agencies maintain networks in different countries. However, the overall success of this initiative will depend on the creation of new and diversified labour markets. If the government continues to issue licences but fails to rapidly expand access to new destination countries, merely increasing the number of agencies will not yield the desired results. Eliminating syndicates, ensuring equal opportunities for all licensed agencies, and establishing effective coordination with Bangladeshi missions abroad are now critical.”
On the broader issue, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Dr. Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan told Bonik Barta, “Licensing is fundamentally a political decision. Government officials simply implement policies adopted by the government. Advisers or the government decide, and civil servants act accordingly, using existing rules to regulate or moderate the process.”
He added, “A higher number of agencies reduces the risk of syndicates. If each agency sends even one worker, the total number of migrants increases significantly. If agencies operate on principle and with a sense of patriotism, having more of them is not a problem. In fact, it enables them to explore new labour markets across the world.”
Dr. Bhuiyan said he has at least eight to ten legal instruments at his disposal to regulate agencies. He noted that strict measures are being taken against dishonest actors and that no leniency is being shown. Acknowledging that it is difficult to stabilise the system after standing on what he described as “16 years of ruins,” he said the current interim government is trying to lay a strong foundation.
However, migration and refugee affairs expert Asif Munir said it was essential to review the performance of existing agencies and ensure accountability before issuing new licences. Speaking to Bonik Barta, he said, “On International Migrants Day, the Chief Adviser himself acknowledged that problems in the sector—particularly broker-related issues and institutional failures—are highly complex and that efforts so far have been superficial. The ‘broker’ problem, in particular, has not been resolved. Recruiting agencies and brokers shift blame onto one another. It is not possible for a single ministry to control brokers or agents; this requires coordination among all relevant ministries. In many cases, family members of agency owners operate travel agencies under different ministries. Even if one agency’s server or licence is blocked, operations continue under another licence. Many recruiting agencies do not directly send workers but effectively operate as official sub-agents or brokers.”
He added, “The situation remains largely unchanged, which he described as deeply disappointing. Not only have more licences been issued, but the scope for regulation and monitoring has become even more challenging. The government has recently launched an online overseas employment platform, but it is being operated through an outsourced company. Just as the ‘Ami Probashi’ app under the previous government faced allegations of irregularities due to its operation by a minister’s relative, reliance on external companies under the current system also increases risks. The lack of in-house technological capacity at the ministry raises concerns about hacking or manipulation.”
Attempts were made through various channels to obtain comments from Dr. Asif Nazrul, adviser to the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, but no response could be obtained as of the time of writing this report.