Bangladesh’s interim government has reinstated the "except Israel" clause in national passports, reversing a controversial decision made by the former Awami League administration in 2020.
The clause, which had been dropped under the guise of enhancing the global acceptance of Bangladeshi passports, had read simply: “This passport is valid for all countries of the world.”
Implemented in 2020, the removal of the long-standing "except Israel" condition drew sharp criticism from various quarters.
However, the Sheikh Hasina government largely evaded public scrutiny at the time.
Following the government’s fall in July 2024, amid a popular uprising, calls to restore the exclusion clause gained renewed traction.
The demand intensified as pro-Palestinian sentiment surged across the country during the "March for Gaza" protests, condemning Israeli aggression and alleged war crimes in the occupied territories.
On 7 April 2025, a circular signed by Nilima Afroze, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, confirmed the reinstatement of the "Except Israel" clause in all new passport issuances.
The move has raised immediate logistical questions regarding the estimated millions of passports issued between 2020 and 7 April 2025 that omitted the exclusion clause.
When contacted on the matter, officials at the Department of Immigration and Passports declined to respond.
An internal source at the department said that while new passport applications will now include the restored clause—“This passport is valid for all countries of the world except Israel”—existing passports issued over the past four-and-a-half years will remain unchanged.
The official added that the department is in communication with both local and international passport service providers regarding the implementation of the revised policy.
Discussions are also underway regarding a possible alternative: affixing an immigration seal bearing the clause at airports for outgoing travellers holding older passports.
However, no decision has been finalised.
The e-passport service was first introduced on 22 January 2020. Between then and June 2021, over 840,000 passports were issued.
To date, the Department of Passports—now printing documents in-house using advanced Kugler machines—is producing at least 10,000 passports daily. By 31 March 2025, a total of 34,177,937 machine-readable passports (MRPs) had been printed.
The directorate maintains that passports without the "except Israel" wording will not be rendered invalid.
Holders will be able to renew their documents with the clause once they expire or require reissuance.
Discussions are ongoing to determine whether the clause could be incorporated into existing valid passports without the need for full renewal.
Repeated attempts to contact the Director General Major General Nurul Anwar via his official mobile number and WhatsApp for comment went unanswered.
