Bangladesh has to issue an official notification in this regard. file | Photo credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Bangladesh is taking steps towards normalizing visa facilities for Indian visitors, days after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led government took office after a landslide election victory, a diplomatic source confirmed. The Hindu. However, Bangladesh is yet to issue an official notification in this regard.
Bangladesh stopped issuing visas in December 2025 when Indian missions faced protest and several incidents of stone pelting targeting Indian missions and visa centers were reported in Bangladesh. Subsequently, protests took place in India targeting the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi as well as visa centers in West Bengal. In this context, the Bangladesh High Commission has suspended the issuance of visas and issued a public notice in this regard.
Visa was one of the major areas that faced disruption in Bangladesh in July-August 2024 after the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina’s government. According to diplomatic sources, before the overthrow of the Hasina regime, India used to issue more than eight thousand daily visas to Bangladesh through multiple Indian visa centers in Bangladesh. However, after a major disruption in July-August 2024, Indian visa application centers opened sporadically due to security threats. According to diplomatic sources, India issued around 3,000 medical and student visas during the swearing-in of BNP Chairman Tariq Rahman as the new Prime Minister of Bangladesh on February 17, 2026.
The visa-related announcements came soon after the Ministry of External Affairs expressed its willingness to take the bilateral relationship forward on Friday (February 20, 2026). External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at Friday’s weekly briefing, “India looks forward to further strengthening our multi-faceted bilateral ties with Bangladesh, building on the warm and historic ties between the two countries.”
Published – February 21, 2026 03:04 pm IST
