Govt to link public officials' database with e-passport system to stop concealing professional info

The government is moving to connect the Integrated Budget and Accounting System (Ibas) with the e-passport database to prevent public servants from concealing their profession while applying for passports. At the same time, all government employees will soon be required to update their occupation information in their national ID (NID).

The decision, taken at a meeting on 30 November chaired by Additional Secretary (Immigration Wing) Faisal Ahmed, comes in the wake of a policy change earlier this year. On 18 February, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a circular removing the requirement for police verification in the passport-issuing process, a move intended to make passport services faster and more efficient. 

Infograph: TBS

However, soon after the change, the Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) flagged serious vulnerabilities created by the new system.

A Home Ministry official who attended the meeting told The Business Standard that after police verification was removed, the DIP identified several cases in which government officials applied for passports while concealing their job status, something that could not be detected through the e-passport system because their NIDs lacked updated professional information.

The official noted that individuals can apply for an NID as early as age 16. Whatever occupation they list at that time often remains unchanged, even after they enter government service years later. As a result, the NID database does not reliably indicate who is a public servant and who is not. "For new recruits, NID occupation updates will become mandatory within six months of joining government service," the official added.

In a letter to the Home Ministry, DIP Director General Md Nurul Anowar warned that with outdated occupation details on NIDs, passport officials are essentially flying blind as they have no dependable way to verify whether an applicant is a government employee or not.

Although Ibas maintains a complete and up-to-date record of all public servants, it is not yet connected to the passport system. To close this gap, the DG proposed creating an automated verification link between Ibas and the e-passport platform. He further recommended making timely NID occupation updates mandatory for all citizens, particularly for government employees. Under his proposal, anyone joining public, semi-public, autonomous, or state-owned institutions would be required to update their NID profession within three months of entering service.

In response, the meeting decided to establish a direct link between the e-passport system and Ibas as an initial step. Instructions will also be issued for updating NID occupation information for all government employees, though full implementation will begin only after the national election. After the polls, authorities will set a specific window to allow users to update their records conveniently.