Bangladesh will resume issuing tourist visas to Indian citizens from Monday, reopening a key travel channel that had been effectively paused for several weeks due to security concerns, ANI reported.
A senior official from Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on Sunday that tourist visa services from Bangladeshi diplomatic missions across India will now operate fully. The move applies to all missions, including the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, as well as consular offices in Guwahati, Agartala, Mumbai and Kolkata.
The government had earlier instructed its missions to suspend the issuance of tourist visas between January 15 and February 15, citing security reasons linked to the national election held on February 12.
While the suspension was not formally announced as a blanket halt, officials acknowledged that tourist visas were ‘generally stopped,’ except in urgent or special cases.
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“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,” a Bangladesh Foreign Ministry official said.
The official added that the resumption is also not being framed as a formal policy reversal. “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.
The temporary curbs extended beyond India. According to officials, visa services had also been completely halted for certain neighbouring countries, including Bhutan and Nepal, during the election period due to security considerations. Following a review of the overall situation after the polls, Bangladesh has now decided to fully restore all categories of visas, including tourist visas, from its missions.
The February 12 election marked a political shift in Dhaka. During the period of the interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus, ties between India and Bangladesh had reportedly experienced strain. However, after the election and the swearing-in of the new government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, there are indications that bilateral engagement may be stabilising.
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A high-level Indian delegation attended the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet.
The delegation was led by Om Birla, Speaker of India’s lower house of Parliament, who met with the newly appointed Prime Minister during the visit. Senior Indian leadership’s involvement was seen as a diplomatic indication of the two neighbors’ ongoing cooperation.
The resumption of tourist visas is expected to benefit cross-border travel significantly. Both the countries share deep cultural, linguistic and familial ties, particularly between West Bengal and Bangladesh.
Religious tourism, medical visits, family travel, and short-term leisure trips form a substantial portion of movement between the two countries.
However, while Bangladesh has reopened tourist visa services for Indians, Indian tourist visa services for Bangladeshi nationals remain suspended, according to officials. Some other visa categories continue to be processed.
The reopening of tourist visas from Bangladesh’s side is likely to ease travel planning for thousands of Indian travellers who visit the country each year for heritage tours in Dhaka, Cox’s Bazar beach trips, or visits to ancestral homes across the border.
For now, missions across India are preparing to resume regular processing from Monday, signalling a return to routine consular operations after weeks of uncertainty.
