Staff Correspondent:

The government has directed the Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) to reinstate the phrase “except Israel” on Bangladeshi passports.

In a notice dated 7 April, the Security Services Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs instructed DIP to take necessary steps to restore the condition.

The notice, signed by Deputy Secretary Nilima Afroz, was addressed to DIP Director General Maj Gen Md Nurul Anwar.

“In the context of the aforementioned subject, you are hereby requested by order to take necessary measures to reinstate the ‘Except Israel’ condition on Bangladeshi passports as before, following due process,” the notice read.

Previously, on 23 May 2021, the then government removed the phrase from e-passports in an effort to align with “international standards”.

The earlier text stated: “This passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel.” The process to remove the phrase from machine-readable passports (MRPs) was also initiated.

However, despite the removal of the phrase in 2021, the travel ban to Israel for Bangladeshi passport holders remained in effect.