Strict visa policies, significant skills gap, and allegations of malpractice are negatively impacting the country’s traditionally robust labour market, especially in the Middle East.
Once known as the hub of the country’s overseas employment, the important job destinations Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Malaysia as well are getting increasingly difficult to access - triggering alarms over the future of labour migration and the flow of remittances.
Recent data reveal that worker recruitment in key Gulf nations dropped 30 percent in 2024 compared to that of 2023, with February 2025 figures showing a 20 percent monthly decline.
The crisis stems from three simultaneous market closures - UAE, Malaysia, and Oman - which previously absorbed 89 percent of the country’s migrant workforce.
The situation began to deteriorate as concerns grew over a segment of Bangladeshi workers violating visa terms or residing illegally in the UAE. Several reports indicate that some workers also used forged documents to gain entry, denting the country’s image to the UAE authorities. This resulted in a more rigid stance toward new visa applicants from Bangladesh, significantly slowing down labour migration.
In an attempt to manage the situation, the UAE government offered a general amnesty for undocumented migrants between July and December 2024. This allowed irregular migrants to legalise their status or return home without penalties. Around 50,000 Bangladeshis took advantage of the opportunity.
However, government sources reveal that more than twice that number remained undocumented. After the amnesty period expired on January 1, 2025, UAE authorities launched crackdowns, leading to the deportation of numerous migrants on a daily basis.
The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment in a statement recently said that the United Arab Emirates and Oman have been one of the most important labour markets for Bangladeshis since long. Currently, due to some administrative and strategic reasons, sending Bangladeshi workers to these two countries is temporarily stalled. However, the Bangladesh government is working intensively to reopen these two markets through bilateral discussions.
At present, the UAE is prioritising hiring of highly skilled and qualified workers, especially in fields like hospitality, marketing, healthcare, and security services. Bangladesh, which traditionally sent a large number of low-skilled workers, is struggling to meet the new demand. Many potential workers have failed to meet skill requirements or lacked proper certifications. The use of false documents in the past further complicated the trust issue.
Despite the challenges, recent months have seen a glimmer of hope. The UAE authorities reportedly began issuing a limited number of visas—approximately 30 to 50 per day for Bangladeshi applicants, focusing on visit and employment categories. Skilled professionals with valid documentation are seeing more opportunities, including the possibility of visa transfers and job changes within the country.
According to Bangladesh’s Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), the country sent just over 10 lakh workers abroad in 2024, with 95 percent going to five key destinations: Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Qatar, Singapore, and the UAE. This figure marks a 30 percent drop compared to the previous year when 13 lakh workers went abroad.
To address this deepening crisis, experts and policymakers are calling for renewed diplomatic engagement with the UAE and other Middle Eastern nations. The Bangladesh government must assure these countries that it is committed to sending trained, skilled, and certified workers. Strengthening vocational training, offering language courses, and ensuring document authenticity are now more important than ever.
Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) acting executive director Tasneem Siddiqui said, “Markets like Bahrain and the UAE are closed. Officially they are open, but in reality, they are not. I see this market contraction as a major problem. The intermediary class must also be held accountable. This market is full of fraud. For this reason, those countries shut down the market every now and then.”
As a solution, Tasneem Siddiqui said, “We are receiving the money, but we are not giving it the importance it requires. What we need is to increase skills. It is necessary to create workforce with the types of skills that are in demand.”
