Days after the Tarique Rahman-led government assumed office in Bangladesh, India is moving to fully restore its visa operations in the country, according to media reports and official statements.
Aniruddha Das, India’s senior consular official in Sylhet, said efforts were underway to resume all categories of visas. “Medical and double-entry visas are being issued now, and steps are under way to restart other categories, including travel visas,” he said at the Sylhet District Press Club, bdnews24 reported.
Das, who serves as India’s assistant high commissioner in Sylhet, also emphasized New Delhi’s willingness to facilitate visas to strengthen bilateral engagement. He described India-Bangladesh ties as being built on “mutual respect and honour,” adding that people in both countries remain central to a “stable, positive, constructive, long-term and mutually beneficial relationship.”
Indian visa centres had previously suspended services in Bangladesh amid strained relations and security concerns following protests triggered by the death of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi. The demonstrations, some of which carried anti-India sentiment, further complicated ties that had already deteriorated after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in July 2024 and her subsequent flight to India.
“Whenever the security situation turns bad, we are forced to shut down,” an Indian visa centre official had told ANI in December.
Bangladesh had also tightened visa rules for Indian nationals earlier this year, restricting most categories except business and employment visas across its missions, including those in Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai. The Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi had suspended visa services indefinitely in late December following protests near the mission.
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