Bangladesh Moves to Ease Passport Issuance by Relaxing Police Verification
In an effort to streamline passport services and reduce public inconvenience, the Security Services Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs has prepared a summary proposal seeking approval from the Chief Adviser of the interim government, Professor Muhammad Yunus, to relax the requirement for police verification. According to Deputy Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser, Apurba Jahangir, the proposal was sent for approval on Monday (February 17).
On the same day, during a press conference, the Director General of the National Identity Registration Wing (NID), A. S. M. Humayun Kabir, announced that no institution will be allowed to verify complete citizen data from the NID server to prevent data breaches. Additionally, he stated that special initiatives have been taken to expedite the processing of pending NID correction applications, resulting in the resolution of approximately 50% of applications since the launch of the crash program.
Speaking at a briefing at the Election Commission Building, the Director General further explained that institutions requesting data verification will only be informed whether the provided data is correct or incorrect by the Election Commission. However, both the verifying institutions and their employees will require security clearance for such verifications.
Acknowledging previous incidents of data breaches, Humayun Kabir added that a committee will be formed by the Election Commission, which will have the authority to inspect and investigate institutions without prior notice.
According to sources, for new passport applications, police verification will no longer be required if the applicant's details are verified online through the national identity database. Similarly, Bangladeshi citizens residing abroad and minors applying for new passports will be issued passports without police verification, provided their details are authenticated online through the birth registration database. Once passport application details are cross-checked with the National ID or birth registration database, it will be considered as fulfilling the necessary investigation requirements under Section 5(2) of the Bangladesh Passport Order, 1973.
