No more police verification for passport

The interim government of Bangladesh has eliminated the police verification requirement for passport applications, now accepting verification through the National Identity Card (NID) information instead.

The Security Services Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs announced this change via a circular issued on Tuesday, following approval from Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on a proposal from the home ministry on Monday. 

The circular, signed by Additional Secretary Kazi Golam Towsif, specifies that passports can now be issued based solely on NID information. For minors, a birth registration certificate will suffice in place of an NID. If the application details match the database, no police verification is needed.

For Bangladeshis residing abroad and for minors seeking new passports, issuance will be based on an online verified birth registration certificate, bypassing police verification. 

In cases where there are changes in basic information like name, parents' names, date of birth, or birthplace during passport re-issuance, the NID card information will be used to issue the passport.

Chief Adviser Yunus, speaking at the Deputy Commissioner’s Conference, emphasised that passports are a citizen's right and should not require police verification. "The birth certificate given to me was not subject to any police verification. The NID issued to me also did not require waiting for police verification; it was granted as a citizen. A passport is also an identity document for a citizen of this country, and there is no need for police verification here," he said.

Home Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, speaking at the Bangladesh Coast Guard's founding anniversary on Monday, reiterated that this move has been long planned to free the public from unnecessary hassles. "Police verification will no longer be needed for those who have a national identity card," he confirmed.