Dhaka: The machine readable passports (MRP) has earned the government Tk 5,700 crore as revenue till date since the systems were introduced nearly six years ago, home minister Asaduzzaman Khan said on Monday.

‘The Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) so far issued 1,34,80,000 MRPs to the Bangladeshi nationals since its introduction on May 01, 2010... the MRPs and MRVs so far earned Taka 5,700 crore to the national exchequer,’ he told BSS.

He said the system was introduced in line with the demands of the international immigration demands while several countries set deadlines saying they would not accept hand written passports anymore.

‘I can tell you no Bangladeshi returned home for want of MRPs,’ the minister said.

Khan said 68 Bangladesh diplomatic missions abroad were also issuing MRPs against applications by expatriate Bangladeshi nationals while 67 DIP centres including regional offices and the head office were issuing the digital travel document at home. The DIP started issuing MRP from the first week of May 2010 to meet the deadline set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to convert all handwritten passports into MRPs.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on June 2, 2010 launched the much- awaited MRP and MRV elevating the country’s passport and visa system to the international standard sealing for good the scope for passport tempering.