Daijiworld Media Network - Dhaka
Dhaka, Jun 25: India will resume accepting tourist visa applications from Bangladeshi nationals from June 28, nearly two years after the service was suspended following attacks on Indian diplomatic establishments in Bangladesh.
India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi announced the decision on Thursday during a visit to the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) at Jamuna Future Park in Dhaka.
Initially, tourist visa applications will be accepted through five centres located in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong, Sylhet and Khulna.
“From June 28, Indian tourist visa applications in Bangladesh will be accepted. We will continue to facilitate medical visas and other urgent applications,” Trivedi said.
He added that India plans to expand the service further in the future and expressed hope that the move would strengthen people-to-people relations between the two countries.
The decision marks a major relaxation of restrictions imposed after India scaled down visa operations following widespread unrest in Bangladesh in August 2024.
On August 5, 2024, the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area was vandalised and set on fire. Several Indian Visa Application Centres across Bangladesh were also attacked, while Indian personnel associated with development projects reportedly faced threats.
Following the incidents, India suspended tourist visa services but continued issuing medical visas, emergency travel documents and other humanitarian-related visas.
The visa centres in Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Sylhet and Rajshahi continued operations and issued more than 1,500 visas daily under categories other than tourist visas.
Earlier, Trivedi presented his credentials to Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin at Bangabhaban in Dhaka after taking charge as India’s new High Commissioner. He was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour during the ceremony.
President Shahabuddin welcomed the envoy and expressed hope that he would contribute towards strengthening bilateral relations during his tenure.
Trivedi arrived in Bangladesh on June 12 through the Petrapole-Benapole border route and succeeded Pranay Kumar Verma, who completed his four-year tenure in Dhaka in May.
In another development, the Centre has granted Trivedi protocol status equivalent to that of a Union Cabinet minister for ceremonial purposes.
The decision was notified through an Office Memorandum issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday. The upgraded status does not change the official Table of Precedence but is limited to protocol arrangements, reflecting the importance attached by New Delhi to its diplomatic mission in Bangladesh.