Tourist visa services at Bangladeshi diplomatic missions in India will resume on Monday, an official of the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry stated on Sunday.
The Bangladesh government had earlier halted issuance of tourist visas from its diplomatic missions in India due to security reasons.
However, following the BNP-led government taking oath on February 17 following a landslide victory in the February 12 Bangladesh elections, authorities reviews the situation and decided to restore the services.
With conditions now improved, tourist visa processing will be fully operational from Monday.
“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 official said.
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As per a report in ANI, the official further clarified the government’s position on the suspension and restoration of services. “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.
Ahead of polls in Bangladesh, missions in India were directed to suspend tourist visas from January 15 to February 15. In urgent cases, visas were issued. Apart from India, due to security reasons, services were also completely stopped for countries such as Bhutan and Nepal.
India-Bangladesh relations have been strained since the ouster of the Awami League government through a mass uprising on August 5, 2024, when the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled and took shelter in New Delhi.
India restricted travel visas for Bangladeshis while limiting other categories of visas and certain trade. Some trade restrictions were also imposed by Bangladesh.
