The Bangladesh Government has extended certain privileges to its nationals, who have been naturalised as British citizens, according to a Daily Star news report of 24th March, 2008. This is the third official notification on Bangladesh citizenship by the government including (a) the Bangladesh Citizenship (Temporary Provisions) Order of 1972 signed on the 15th of December, 1972 by President Abu Sayeed Chowdhury and (b) the Bangladesh Citizenship (Temporary Provisions (Amendment)) Ordinance 1978 signed by President Ziaur Rahman.
Combining these three notices and studying the application form for Dual Nationality Certificate, one realizes that the privilege granted to Bangladeshi-Britons is to automatically retain Bangladesh citizenship. Thus, unlike other Bangladeshis who have been naturalised as citizens of a country other than the United Kingdom, they no longer have to go through the long winded process of the Dual Nationality Application that requires a declaration of assets and activities for the past 5 years.
Being an expatriate Bangladeshi with little or no knowledge of the legal technicalities involved in dual citizenship, all this is somewhat perplexing. Political views as to the rights and wrongs of the principles of dual or multiple nationalities aside, I would like to question the practical effects of the latest notification. Most Bangladeshis who have been naturalised as citizens (as well as their spouses of foreign origin) of another country are entitled to a “No Visa Required (NVR) for Travel to Bangladesh” stamp on their passport which is valid till the expiry of that passport and renewable when a new passport is obtained.
This does not require the lengthy process of obtaining the “Dual Nationality Certificate”. Having the NVR simply means people can travel in and out of Bangladesh without having to get a visitors visa. What it does not specify is how long the NVR holder can reside in Bangladesh or what their rights are (employment, ownership of property, voter registration) even though one has to prove that they effectively have the right of abode in Bangladesh (through birth, heritage or marriage) by producing the relevant documents before it is granted to them.
The news report also states that Bangladeshi-Britons will be able to use their Bangladeshi passports. What does that really mean? Can a Bangladeshi-Briton enter Bangladesh on their Bangladesh passport and leave Bangladesh on that same passport without a visa for a country for which they do not require a visa if they enter on their British passport? In other words, will the immigration police at a Bangladeshi land border post or international airport allow a person to travel to a country without a visa if they can produce their British passport? Logically speaking, this should be automatic since carrying both a Bangladeshi and a British passport have been effectively granted by the government. Perhaps the readers can see that it gets very complicated at this point as to the real motives behind the government's latest notification. I wonder if the government would consider clarifying these matters for the benefits of us expatriates.