Romania displeased as its foreign workers keep leaving for western Europe

Romania is set to issue work visas for over 15,000 people from Bangladesh over the summer, but under 10% of the ones who came in the past remained in the country, while the rest left for countries such as Germany and Portugal.

Romania is “a bit displeased” with its Bangladeshi workers, according to Bangladesh’s foreign affairs minister, Dr. AK Abdul Momen, cited by Profit.ro. Only a few of them remain in the country after obtaining the visa. He also added that Romania prefers to recruit through government-to-government collaboration because it feels "more comfortable" recruiting people in a well-regulated manner.

A consular team from Romania recently went to Dhaka to facilitate visa procedures for citizens from Bangladesh. Last summer, another mission granted over 5,400 work visas to Bangladeshi citizens. Additional personnel was allocated to the Embassy of Romania in New Delhi, India, to speed up the process. Officials are ready to do the same now, but many workers from Bangladesh who were granted visas to Romania were then caught trying to cross illegally into Germany.

About 860 citizens from Bangladesh entered Germany illegally from Romania in the past, according to Bangladesh’s foreign minister. They were sent back to Bangladesh from Germany through the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

"From Romania, they go to other countries, such as Germany and Portugal. Why should we allow Bangladeshis to come to Romania if they don't stay? Romania cannot be a springboard to other countries," the Bangladeshi said, quoting the Romanian side. He described the situation as unfortunate.

Back in 2021, the Romanian Government approved a major increase in the number of visas that can be granted to foreign workers for 2022 – 100,000. The same number has been kept for 2023, as Romanian employers struggle to find workers. Nevertheless, foreigners represent only 1.1% of employees in Romania, with those from outside the EU, EEA, or Switzerland accounting for only 0.84% of the total, despite recent increases in the number of work visas issued, according to a 2021 analysis by Profit.ro.

Bangladesh opened its first diplomatic mission in Romania in 1975, but it was closed in 1995. Romania, in turn, closed its mission in 2000, but a new consular section was opened in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to facilitate the recruitment of personnel needed for work on the subway or highways in Romania.