India’s Ministry of External Affairs has announced that visas for Bangladeshi citizens will only be issued for medical emergencies and urgent needs. This decision was confirmed by Indian diplomat Randhir Jaiswal, who stated that regular visa services will resume once the situation in Bangladesh stabilizes.
Visa issuance for Bangladeshis was initially suspended after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August, due to unrest in the country. Many Indian embassy staff were sent back to India for safety reasons, and while visa centres reopened briefly, protests disrupted services again.
Currently, only visa centres in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong, Sylhet, and Khulna are operating, but they are focusing on emergency services. Priority is being given to medical visas and other urgent cases.
India clarified that once law and order are restored in Bangladesh, normal visa services will resume. However, for now, only a limited number of visas are being processed, including student and double-entry visas for third-country travel.
In the meantime, more than 20,000 passports of Bangladeshi citizens have been returned, following protests and threats against the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, according to the Times of India.
