MRPs meant for expats in Germany go to Brazil

Some expatriate Bangladeshis living in Berlin, the capital of Germany, suffered for around a month as the FedEx Bangladesh Express Company Ltd had allegedly sent their passports to another embassy instead of the Bangladeshi embassy in Germany.

Officials of the Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) attributed this to negligence on the part of FedEx. “That’s why the DIP’s image was tarnished,” a DIP source said.

On April 4, a letter signed by the DIP’s assistant director, Md Hafizur Rahman, sent to the general manager (sales) of FedEx Bangladesh Express Company Ltd, Md Zakir Hossain, said a total of 44 machine readable passports (MRPs) that had been issued for expatriate Bangladeshis, staying in Berlin, went missing from the personalisation centre of the DIP.

“All the passports were handed over to the FedEx Bangladesh Express Company Limited for supplying these to the passport holders in Germany, but the MRPs were not supplied,” the letter added.

When informed, the DIP formed an inquiry committee headed by a director of the directorate. They identified that the 44 MRPs were dispatched to the Bangladeshi mission in Brazil instead of Germany, which was the result of negligence of duty on the part of the courier service.

Talking to The Independent, DIP assistant director Md Hafizur Rahman said the MRPs went missing in January. The passports were supplied later, in February, by the courier service after it detected the lapse. “It was actually the fault of the authorities of the FedEx Bangladesh Express Company Limited,” he said.

“We have advised them (FedEx) to take necessary measures to preclude such an incident of passports going missing in future,” he added. The general manager (sales) of FedEx Bangladesh Express Company Ltd, Md Zakir Hossain, said they had resolved the issue immediately. He, however, declined to make any further comment.

On February 26, 2017, an agreement was inked by the government between the DIP and the US multinational courier FedEx Express to deliver MRPs to Bangladeshi expatriates within a week. Earlier, the MRPs were supplied to expatriate Bangladeshis through diplomatic bags.

It takes at least two-and-a-half months for a Bangladeshi expatriate abroad to get an MRP through the diplomatic bags.

Currently, MRPs are being supplied to the expatriate Bangladeshis working in 52 countries among 65 missions abroad through courier services.

MRPs were introduced in the country on April 1, 2010, to speed up clearance and improve security for travellers. The passports department said at least 1.75 crore MRPs have been issued till now.

 

MRPs meant for expats in Germany go to Brazil

Some expatriate Bangladeshis living in Berlin, the capital of Germany, suffered for around a month as the FedEx Bangladesh Express Company Ltd had allegedly sent their passports to another embassy instead of the Bangladeshi embassy in Germany. Officials of the Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) attributed this to negligence on the part of FedEx. Thats why the DIPs image was tarnished, a DIP source said. On April 4, a letter signed by the DIPs assistant director, Md Hafizur Rahman, sent to the general manager (sales) of FedEx Bangladesh Express Company Ltd, Md Zakir Hossain, said a total of 44 machine readable passports (MRPs) that had been issued for expatriate Bangladeshis, staying in Berlin, went missing from the personalisation centre of the DIP. All the passports were handed over to the FedEx Bangladesh Express Company Limited for supplying these to the passport holders in Germany, but the MRPs were not supplied, the letter added. When informed, the DIP formed an inquiry committee headed by a director of the directorate. They identified that the 44 MRPs were dispatched to the Bangladeshi mission in Brazil instead of Germany, which was the result of negligence of duty on the part of the courier service. Talking to The Independent, DIP assistant director Md Hafizur Rahman said the MRPs went missing in January. The passports were supplied later, in February, by the courier service after it detected the lapse. It was actually the fault of the authorities of the FedEx Bangladesh Express Company Limited, he said. We have advised them (FedEx) to take necessary measures to preclude such an incident of passports going missing in future, he added. The general manager (sales) of FedEx Bangladesh Express Company Ltd, Md Zakir Hossain, said they had resolved the issue immediately. He, however, declined to make any further comment. On February 26, 2017, an agreement was inked by the government between the DIP and the US multinational courier FedEx Express to deliver MRPs to Bangladeshi expatriates within a week. Earlier, the MRPs were supplied to expatriate Bangladeshis through diplomatic bags. It takes at least two-and-a-half months for a Bangladeshi expatriate abroad to get an MRP through the diplomatic bags. Currently, MRPs are being supplied to the expatriate Bangladeshis working in 52 countries among 65 missions abroad through courier services. MRPs were introduced in the country on April 1, 2010, to speed up clearance and improve security for travellers. The passports department said at least 1.75 crore MRPs have been issued till now.