Bangladesh to resume tourist visas for Indians in sign of diplomatic thaw with New Delhi

Bangladesh will resume issuing tourist visas to Indian nationals from Monday, news agency ANI reported on Sunday, citing a Bangladesh Foreign Ministry official, in a move that likely shows improving diplomatic ties between Dhaka and New Delhi following the February 12 election in the neighbouring country.

Tourist visa services from Bangladeshi diplomatic missions across India had been suspended earlier due to security concerns. According to the official, the situation has since stabilised after the election, allowing the government to fully restore services.

“Including the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi, and in various cities of India such as Guwahati, Agartala, Mumbai and Kolkata--wherever Bangladeshi diplomatic missions are located--apart from tourist visas, other visa services were mostly ongoing. However, tourist visas had generally been stopped, though they were still issued in urgent cases,” the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry official was quoted as saying.


“Although we did not formally announce it as stopped, we are not formally announcing it as resumed either; in fact, it was ongoing and will now be expanded widely from Monday,” the official told ANI.

Reconciliation in sight?

Around the time of the February 12 election, Bangladesh government had directed its missions in India to halt tourist visa issuance between January 15 and February 15.

Visas continued to be granted in urgent cases during that period.

Due to security considerations, visa services were also completely suspended for countries such as Bhutan and Nepal.

After reviewing the overall situation, the government has decided to fully resume all categories of visas, including tourist visas, from all locations, starting Monday.

While Bangladesh is restoring tourist visa services for Indians, Indian tourist visa services for Bangladeshi nationals remain suspended, though certain other categories are still operational.

Bilateral ties had seen strain during the interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus. However, after the February 12 election brought a new administration under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, there have been indications of improving relations between the two neighbours.

At the swearing-in ceremony of the newly convened Bangladesh cabinet, a high-level Indian delegation led by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla attended the event and met with the country's Prime Minister.