UAE to relax visa for Bangladesh workers: Minister

A ban on Bangladeshis seeking work in the UAE will be lifted "very soon", the expatriates welfare and overseas employment minister, Nurul Islam, reportedly said on Abu Dhabi.

The visa regime would be relaxed “following negotiations between UAE ministers and a delegation from the republic [Bangladesh]”, wrote The National, UAE.

The minister reportedly made the prediction on Wednesday that the 2012 freeze on visas will end.

According to the newspaper report, the ban meant that Bangladeshis in the UAE have been able to continue in their jobs, but jobseekers have not been able to join the workforce.

Many of the 700,000 Bangladeshis in the UAE are said to have working in the construction industry.

The minister was quoted to have said that said more workers will be needed to work on Expo 2020 projects.

"We have received a very positive response from UAE officials about the reopening of visas and the visa ban is going to be lifted very soon," Nurul Islam was quoted to have said after a meeting with Saqr Ghobash, UAE human resources and emiratisation minister.

The current ban also meant that workers could not move to other companies, the report said.