India will resume tourist visas for Bangladesh nationals

India will resume tourist visas for Bangladesh nationals




• Delhi suspended tourist visas for Bangladeshi nationals 

in August 2024 following political unrest and the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led government. 


Trivedi announced that tourist visa applications will resume on June 28, at five visa centres, including the one in Dhaka. 


This was his first announcement after presenting his credentials to the President of Bangladesh, Mohammed Shahabuddin, Thursday afternoon, signalling that he has been tasked with repairing ties between the two countries.


•India and Bangladesh were planning to resume visa services soon. 


As both countries sought to normalise their relationship after a period of significant turmoil, the full-scale resumption of visa services was agreed upon by both sides as an important first step.


• Bangladesh resumed issuing visas to Indian citizens


across all categories following the swearing-in of the Tarique Rahman government in February this year. 


During Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman’s visit to India in April, the normalisation of visa processes was one of the key topics discussed by Dhaka.


• All Bangladesh visa centres in India


including the High Commission in New Delhi and the consular divisions in 

  • Kolkata, 
  • Agartala, 
  • Mumbai 
  • and Chennai, have been operational since February 20. In response, Dhaka requested that Delhi promptly reciprocate on the visa issue.


• The five IVACs in Bangladesh came under attack in August 2024


and Indian personnel working at development projects were threatened. 

Due to security threats and the attacks on the High Commission premises, the High Commission of India was forced to scale down visa operations in Bangladesh.


Do You Know:

• The Centre has granted Dinesh Trivedi a status equivalent to that of a Union Cabinet Minister. An order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said Trivedi “has been assigned the equivalent status of Union Cabinet Minister in the Table of Precedence (ToP) as a measure personal to him, without amending the Table of Precedence.”


“The position in the Table of Precedence is for ceremonial functions only,” it said.


Trivedi has succeeded Pranay Kumar Verma, who was the Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh for four years until May this year. The Ministry of External Affairs announced Trivedi’s appointment to Dhaka on April 27.


•  over 13,000 visas have been issued to Indian 

citizens in the first two months BY BANGLADESH since the resumption of operations around February 20. 


These include various categories: business, tourism, medical and for those travelling across the border to meet family members.


• Bangladesh has been India’s top source of foreign tourist arrivals


 often accounting for over 20% of total arrivals. 


A significant portion of these visits is for 

  • medical treatment, 
  • business, 
  • visiting friends/family, with West Bengal being a primary destination. 


In 2023, around 

  • 21.2 lakh visitors from Bangladesh came to India, according to official statistics, 
  • dropped marginally to 17.5 lakh in 2024. 


However, Bangladeshi tourist arrivals to India dropped sharply to 4.7 lakh in 2025 (a 73% decrease), largely due to political tensions and visa restrictions.


• Once visa processes on both sides are normalised, Delhi and Dhaka would look at other points of convergence including economic ties and energy connectivity. 


Recently, India transported diesel to Bangladesh to alleviate energy shortages in the wake of the West Asian crisis.


Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
1) Consider the following statements about river bridges connecting India with neighbouring countries: (UPSC CSE, 2026)
1. ‘Maitri Setu’, built over Feni river, connects Ramgarh in India with Sabroom in Bangladesh.
2. Jhulaghat suspension bridge connects India with Myanmar.
3. Mechi bridge and its approaches connect Panitanki Bypass in India with Kakarvitta in Nepal.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 only
(d) 3 only

Previous year UPSC Main Question Covering similar theme:
📍Analyze internal security threats and transborder crimes along Myanmar, Bangladesh and Pakistan borders including Line of Control (LoC). Also discuss the role played by various security forces in this regard. (UPSC, 2018)

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