KUWAIT: Machine Readable Passport (MRP) system was introduced yesterday at the Bangladesh Embassy in Kuwait. Syed Shahed Reza, the Ambassador of Bangladesh to Kuwait, inaugurated the event at the embassy's compound in Khaldiya, with the event being attended by local press representatives and invited guests. It's a longtime plea of our citizens to introduce the MRP and here it is, said the ambassador. This is a great achievement on our part since the international community is also using the MRP nowadays. It is a must now to utilize the MRP.

As of April 2010, the International Civil Aviation Organization has required all 188 ICAO contracting states to introduce MRP system which replace the old and bureaucratically laborious handwritten passport system, the ambassador explained. He added, All new passports will be issued in MRP form. It will be less time-consuming and easier. The old passport will be accepted so long as it isn't expired.

MRPs, which are the contemporary internationally standard computer-generated travel documents, are believed to enhance security and accelerate passport processing at ports of entry anywhere in the world. The data on the new MRPs for Bangladeshis in Kuwait will be processed and encoded in Kuwait but sent back to Dhaka for clearing and verification. It will take at least 15 days at minimum but sometimes maybe up to one month. The reason for this is that [the data] will be sent to Bangladesh and the actual passport will be issued from there before they send it back to us here, he explained.

The new system could also eliminate the fraudulent counterfeiting of visas and passports. From now on, applicants will no longer have to provide a copy of their new passport size photo, but instead fill in a form whose details will be entered into the computer here. The Bangladeshi Embassy processes approximately 200-300 passports per day; and queues there are generally not only lengthy but also frustrating. The ambassador pointed out that the queuing time would be a lot shorter with the new passports because of the more rapid processing enabled by the MRPs.

The Bangladeshi population in Kuwait currently stands at 250,000, with new workers continuing to arrive every single day, Ambassador Reza revealed.
Some rumors say that our nationals are banned in Kuwait, he said, while rejecting these reports as false. We are not banned from entering Kuwait; our citizens can come and work. There have been some delays in hiring since the government of Kuwait is introducing a new system, but it will be fine inshallah shortly.

The ambassador further revealed that while around 5,000 Bangladeshi nationals whose visas had expired took advantage of the recent Amiri amnesty to leave the country without facing any penalties, there were many Bangladeshis who were able to get their visas and legalized their residency status. Formerly located in Surra, the Bangladeshi Embassy is now located in a spacious compound with a large parking area in Khaldiya, next to the Kuwait Women's Society headquarters and Kuwait University. - Kuwait Times