What BMET does
BMET is the primary regulatory and record-keeping body for Bangladesh's overseas employment sector. For Bangladeshi nationals going to Ukraine for work, BMET's functions that directly affect you are:
- Registering overseas workers in the government database before departure
- Issuing Smart Card clearance — the mandatory departure document checked at the airport
- Licensing recruiting agencies under BAIRA (Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies)
- Maintaining a database of overseas Bangladeshi workers for welfare and consular intervention purposes
- Running pre-departure orientation (PDO) sessions before workers depart
- Mediating disputes between overseas workers and licensed agencies
- Tracking worker welfare through the Wage Earner Welfare Board
Smart Card — why it is mandatory
The Emigration Ordinance 1982 (as amended by the Overseas Employment and Migrants Act 2013) makes BMET clearance compulsory for all Bangladeshi nationals departing for overseas employment. This applies without exception to Ukraine-bound workers.
Airlines serving international routes from Dhaka and Chittagong airports are required to check for Smart Card clearance before allowing boarding. Border officials also check. Departing without clearance can result in being stopped at the departure gate, returned to the terminal, and subject to administrative penalty. The worker also loses the legal protections that come with registration — insurance coverage, consular intervention rights, and welfare scheme access.
BMET registration also provides a legal basis for consular intervention if the worker faces exploitation, non-payment, or emergency in Ukraine. Unregistered workers have no such basis — they are invisible to the Bangladesh government overseas system.
How to register with BMET
The registration process has two stages — online pre-registration followed by in-person document submission.
- Register online at probashi.gov.bd — create an account with your NID and passport number
- Complete the online application form with employment details
- Book an in-person appointment at BMET head office (Dhaka) or your divisional office
- Attend in person with originals and copies of all required documents
- Biometric data collection — photo and fingerprints taken at the office
- Pay the government fee (BDT 1,000–3,000 — check current rate at bmet.gov.bd)
- Receive Smart Card within 3–7 working days from complete submission
Documents required at the in-person stage: valid MRP passport with Ukrainian Type D visa already stamped, National ID Card (NID), Ukrainian work permit (original, issued by Ukraine's State Employment Service — not a copy or broker-produced document), signed employment contract with Ukrainian employer (Ukrainian language with certified English translation), medical fitness certificate from a BMET-approved medical centre, and overseas employment insurance documentation.
District BMET offices
Applicants from outside Dhaka are not required to travel to the Dhaka head office. BMET maintains divisional and district offices across Bangladesh. The divisional offices handle Smart Card registration for workers from their region.
For current office addresses, appointment booking systems, and contact numbers, check bmet.gov.bd directly — these details change periodically.
Pre-departure orientation (PDO)
BMET runs mandatory pre-departure orientation sessions for registered workers before they depart. PDO sessions are typically held at BMET offices and cover: basics about the destination country (Ukraine), worker rights under Ukrainian law, fraud prevention and what to do if things go wrong, emergency contacts for the Bangladesh Embassy in Kyiv, and the Wage Earner Welfare Board claims process.
PDO attendance is recorded against your Smart Card registration. After registering with BMET, check the current PDO schedule at bmet.gov.bd or ask at the registration office. Orientation is typically scheduled within a few days of Smart Card collection and takes approximately half a day.
BMET for students
Students going to Ukraine for study — not employment — are in a different clearance category. The Smart Card process described above applies to workers. Students should check current BMET requirements at bmet.gov.bd as the student clearance process is separate, the required documents differ, and the fee structure may be different. As of 2026, students typically require a student clearance document rather than the full Smart Card, but verify this at bmet.gov.bd before your departure preparation.
BMET cannot verify your Ukrainian work permit
BMET checks whether a document is present — it does not access Ukrainian government databases to verify whether a work permit is genuine. A fraudulently produced Ukrainian work permit can pass the BMET Smart Card process if the physical document looks convincing. That permit will then be exposed as fraudulent at the Ukrainian border or embassy. This is why verifying the work permit through the Ukrainian State Employment Service registry should happen before submitting to BMET — not after.