Bangladesh urged to speed up passport issuance for 69,000 Rohingyas in Saudi Arabia

Saudi ambassador to Bangladesh has urged the country to expedite the passport issuance of the 69,000 Rohingyas – citizens of Myanmar – who are not Bangladeshi nationals and currently living in Saudi Arabia, in a surprising move that many experts feel undermines the sovereignty of Bangladesh as an independent country.

The announcement was recently made by Bangladesh Home Ministry after Saudi Ambassador Dr Abdullah Zafer bin Abiyah visited Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed at the ministry's office in Dhaka on April 20, 2026.

The Home Minister said that about 22,000 Rohingyas have already received Bangladeshi passports after verification of their documents. He added that a special team has been sent from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia to accelerate the process, without giving further details.

Many Rohingyas have allegedly been given Bangladeshi passports in exchange for bribes in Bangladeshi diplomatic missions in the GCC. Some estimates that they ‘bought’ passports with more than US$4,000 to US$5,000 apiece – making some government officials overnight ‘rich’ in the last few years.

“There are vicious cycles inside and outside the diplomatic missions who work as a team to offer the passports in exchange for a hefty sum, in addition to the government fees. The money usually changes hands outside the mission offices through the external agents that makes tracing the money extremely difficult,” said a source close to one of the diplomatic missions in the GCC, requesting anonymity.

“However, this is an open secret and the money is divided among those involved in the process – like a team work and everyone gets a cut.”

Bangladesh is a country of 170 million people that are confined to a landmass of 144,000 square kilometres, making it the most populous non-city country in the world. The country is already host to more than 4 million Rohiynga refugees confined to the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh – that is further adding pressure on the country’s struggling economy.

Rohingyas, one of the largest refugee communities in the world, are members of the Muslim minority population hailing from the Rakhine state of Myanmar. A series of militant violence and indiscriminate oppression since Myanmar’s independence from the British rule in 1948 forced mass migration of Rohingyas to neighbouring Bangladesh.

Rohingya settlement in Rakhine dates back to the 1430s, when Muslim migrants settled in the then coastal Kingdom of Arakan (Rakhine). During the British rule, Muslims from Bengal migrated to Myanmar, previously known as Burma, as workers – when British also ruled South Asia. This movement resulted in the tripling of the country’s Muslim population within a 40-year period.

Following political unrest and military takeover in 1962, the Rohingyas were stripped off their citizenship and driven away. Over the years, staggered militant operations were staged and the Muslim minority were subjected to various atrocities deemed to be implements for ethnic cleansing. They were forced to seek refuge in the then East Pakistan (currently Bangladesh), particularly in areas of the south-eastern district of Chittagong.

Pakistani government then facilitated travel documents to many of them who had then settled in some of the GCC countries, especially Saudi Arabia.

In 2017, the largest crackdown took place, with more than 1.2 million Rohingyas fleeing to Bangladesh. Over 9,000 Rohingyas are estimated to have been killed during the violence, as per a survey by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF/Doctors without Borders). To date, about 1.4 million live in makeshift camps in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char areas in Chittagong. Repatriation of the Rohingyas has been negligible due to security concerns, civil unrest, and lack of infrastructure in Rakhine.

“Existing conditions in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State are nowhere near ready for Rohingya to return safely,” Amnesty International’s Myanmar Researcher Joe Freeman, emphasised in a 2025 report by Amnesty International.

“Any attempt to push ahead with repatriation without addressing the acute dangers facing all communities – Rohingya, Rakhine and other ethnic minorities in Bangladesh and in Myanmar – could be catastrophic,” he added.

The Rohingya diaspora extends beyond Myanmar and Bangladesh, with many moving to Pakistan and India, South East Asia and Middle East. Latest data sourced from Rohingyas Solidarity Organisation reveals Saudi Arabia hosts the highest number of Rohingyas outside Bangladesh, followed by Pakistan and Malaysia.

Over 69,000 Rohingyas reside in Saudi Arabia and 22,000 have already been issued Bangladeshi passports. Roughly 50,000 have settled in the UAE, seamlessly blending into the nation’s multifaceted community.