Bangladesh is moving to phase out machine-readable passports (MRPs), as nearly 99 percent of passport applicants at its overseas missions now opt for e-passports.

The government has instructed missions where e-passport services are fully operational to stop issuing MRPs. It aims to phase out MRP services from all missions and introduce a fully e-passport system by 31 December.

An inter-ministerial review meeting on MRP, e-passports and improving citizen services at Bangladesh missions abroad was held at the Ministry of Home Affairs on 23 May, chaired by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed.

At the meeting, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs Manzur Morshed Chowdhury presented an update on the rollout of e-passports at 71 passport offices in Bangladesh and 71 missions abroad.

Following the meeting, the Home Minister approved the policy decision to completely discontinue MRP services.

Major General Md Nurul Anwar, director general of the Department of Immigration and Passports, said e-passport enrolment at Bangladesh missions abroad had reached 99 percent. He said maintaining and repairing old MRP equipment had become costly and complicated since the MRP project expired in 2018. There is now no need to continue the MRP system, he added.

According to the Department of Immigration and Passports, only one MRP was issued against 107,001 e-passports between 30 August and 3 September. The MRP was issued by a consulate abroad, indicating that demand for MRPs has virtually disappeared.

Although e-passports were introduced in Bangladesh in 2020, a large number of expatriate Bangladeshis continued to rely on MRPs. Many expatriates do not have national identity cards, while discrepancies between birth registration and NID information also raised concerns that an abrupt discontinuation of MRPs could create complications over visa and residency permit validity.

For this reason, MRP services were kept available for expatriates for an extended period.

Under the new decision, MRP services will be discontinued immediately at missions where e-passport services are fully operational. Expatriate Bangladeshis will, however, be allowed to use their NID or birth registration certificates to correct information in their e-passports until 31 December.

To provide faster passport services to the large number of expatriates in Saudi Arabia, the government has decided to urgently send eight additional mobile enrolment kits (MEKs). The Bangladesh missions in New Delhi and Kolkata have also been instructed to launch e-passport services as soon as possible.

A passport department official said no new MRPs would be issued. However, holders of valid MRPs will be able to apply for e-passports later, provided the information in their NID matches the passport details.

The official said MRP use abroad had fallen below 5 percent. To facilitate e-passport services for expatriates, he said, more consular service centres and staff should be deployed at missions, particularly in the Middle East. This would make it possible to completely phase out MRPs.