Introduction 

Freelancers ID is an identity card issued by the Government of Bangladesh to the freelancers and online workers. This ID card initiative intends to work towards providing long awaited social acceptance of freelancers and online workers within the community. It will also work as proof of employment and income in applicable situations. 

Eligibility

In order to obtain Freelancers ID card one must maintain following eligibility criteria – 

1. Citizen of Bangladesh  (Must have NID Card)
2. Earned a minimum of $1000 via online work in the last 12 months (see applicant types for more)
3. Foreign source of earnings.
4. Can provide proof of contract/job obtained via marketplace/direct client. 
5. Earnings are obtained by providing legal means of service/sale of digital products.

Failure to maintain any of the above-mentioned eligibility criteria may result in the rejection of the application. 

Application Process

Any freelancer looking to obtain Freelancers ID needs to visit www.freelancers.gov.bd and submit an application by filling out an online application form. Applicants will be asked for personal information, work/earning-related information, and skill expertise-related questions.

Have your National ID handy and prepare a profile picture before starting the application(It must be front-facing and must not include Hat, Sunglasses or any kind of excessive editing.). 

Once the application is submitted the applicant needs to pay 1500 BDT as an application fee. The details of the payment procedure will be emailed to the applicant’s designated email address. If your application is rejected you’ll receive a refund of the application fee. 20% paid amount will be deducted as an administration fee.

After the payment is complete it will take up to 7-30 days to complete the verification process. During this process, an assessor may reach out to an applicant via email or video call for more information or clarification of information which are already provided. You might ask to provide some documents during the assessment process.

 

The documents could be the following:

1. Payoneer or any online payment get-way account statement.
2. Freelancing marketplace account statement.
3. Bank Account Statement.
4. Remittance Certificate.

You can provide any other documents that have your Freelancing earning record.

Note:

• The documents must reflect the applicants’ last 12 months’ earrings. 
• The documents must have the applicant’s identity visible.
• The documents must have valid authorization.
• Transaction ID, Transaction Date, Transaction Title or Description have to be visible in the document. 

 Part of the assessment process may also include a video call where the applicant is asked to share his/her computer screen and verify certain details provided in the application.

Upon successful verification, the applicant will be notified via email/SMS. Applicants can then log into the www.freelancers.gov.bd portal and view or download the ID card.

Validity of the Freelancers ID 

Once an application is approved and a virtual Freelancer ID card is issued, it will be valid for 12 months. The applicant may choose to update the card information (for example income information) within this 12 month’s period. Any update request will be considered as a new application and it must go through the same verification process. Update request has the same processing fee as new application.

After 12 months of card being issued, the applicant will be prompted to update their information. The new update request will be considered as a new application and it must go through the same verification process. Update request has the same processing fee as new application.

Who Can Apply for Freelancers ID

1. Individual Freelancer – A freelancer or online worker who works by his/her own
2. Freelancer Team Owner – An individual who owns/operates a small team (upto 15 members) of freelancers. 
3. Freelancer Team Member – An individual who is a member of a Freelancer Team. Before applying; his/her team owner must have an approved Freelancer ID. 

Who Can View My Information

Your privacy is a top priority and you are in complete control of who can access your information. Here are the entities who can access your information 

1. You
2. 3rd Party Entities (Bank/Insurance Providers etc) only when you allow them access via using one time password (OTP) code
3. Government agencies for security and survey purposes. Only provided upon written request
4. Application Assessor for verification purpose

The Freelancers ID Card and Freelancer ID Profile 

The Freelancer ID card is a virtual card which will contain information such as – Freelancer’s image, Name, Expertise, FID Number, Issue Year, Address, Date of Birth and QR code which will contain a link to the Freelancer’s ID Profile.

The freelancer ID Profile will have all verified information submitted during the application process. This profile will only be visible when logged into the Freelancer portal or when QR code is scanned and an OTP is entered which has been sent to applicant’s designated phone number. Under any circumstances the freelancer ID Profile is not publicly visible unless approved by the freelancer himself/herself. 

Income Assessment

Based on the information provided during the application our assessor will verify all freelance and online work related eanings from the last 12 months. Each earning source needs to be backed by verifiable proof. On the freelancer profile an accumulation of earning from different sources will be visible. So for example if you have earned $12000 from Upwork and $8000 from Fiverr then your total earnings will be shown as $20000. 

Earnings from direct clients need to be validated by contracts and proof of transaction such as bank statements, payoneer statements etc. 

Skill Assessment 

A freelancer’s skill level will be assessed based on reviews and ratings received from marketplace and non marketplace sources. On the freelancer profile an accumulation of average rating from different sources will be visible. Recent training on relevant skills will also be considered during the skill assessment process.

FAQ

Q – I do not work on any marketplace such as Upwork or Fiverr. Can I still get a Freelancers ID?

A – Yes you can. As long as you have a verifiable source of income and employment/contract with a foreign entity where work/service/product is delivered virtually, you can apply for Freelancers ID. 

Q – Does having a Freelancer ID guarantee a bank loan or credit card?

A – No. Freelancer ID is a proof of your employment, income and skill expertise. Whether your level of income and skill expertise is upto the expected standard of credit worthiness or not, is completely up to the individual bank or financial institution in question. Any bank will do their own due diligence before providing credit to any individual. 

Q – Can I get a physical ID card?

A – As of now only virtual ID cards are available. 

Q – Do I need to have Freelancer’s ID card to access other features of Freelancer’s Portal?

A – Freelancer’s Portal has many interesting and useful features such as Video Tutorials, Mentor Marketplace, Freelancer Banking, Freelancer Offer etc. In order to access all these features it’s not necessary to have a Freelancer ID. One can simply sign up using email or phone number to access the portal.

Q – My bank is not accepting my Freelancers ID as a proof of employment. What can I do?

A – First of all, be patient, this is a new feature and not all banks and their employees may know about how the Freelancers ID works. You may want to ask them to visit Freelancers.gov.bd portal to learn more about this.

Secondly, reach out to us at [email protected] with your specific issue and we will reach out via official channels to the bank in question to resolve any issue.

Q – I am not a freelancer but I work for a ‘বড় ভাই’ on some projects, can I get a Freelancer ID card?

A – Yes you might. It will depend on if the person you work under has applied as a ‘Freelancer Team Owner’ or not. 

Q – I have only started working as a freelancer, can I get an ID card?

A – Yes you might. If you have earned more than $1000 in the last 12 months then you can apply for a Freelancers ID card. 

Q – What are some of the real life uses of the Freelancer ID card?

A – Freelancers ID card will be useful for any situation where you are required to present a proof of employment and/or income. For example – applying for a loan or credit card at a bank, applying for a visa, renting a house or office, admitting kids at school, becoming a member of clubs or associations, setting up a new business etc. 

Q – Can Freelancers ID be used as a replacement of National ID?

A – No.

Q – Is Freelancer ID a Tax Trap?

A – As per the publication of National Board of Revenue ‘Income Tax At a Glance’ page 26 – Article 17 (II) (k) where it clearly states ‘Income from Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) or Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN) business is exempted up to 30th June, 2024;’. So don’t worry, no tax will be applicable to Freelancers till 2024.