An official announcement in this regard is yet to be made by Bangladesh. File | Photo credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Days after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led government took over after a landslide election victory, Bangladesh is moving towards normalizing visa facilities for Indian visitors, a diplomatic source confirmed to The Hindu. However, Bangladesh is yet to issue an official announcement in this regard.
Bangladesh stopped issuing visas in December 2025 when Indian missions faced protests and several incidents of stone-pelting targeting Indian missions and visa centers were reported in Bangladesh. Subsequently, protests were held in India targeting the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi and visa centers in West Bengal. In this regard, the High Commission of Bangladesh suspended the issuance of visas and issued a public notice in this regard.
Visas were one of the major areas that faced disruption after the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina’s government in Bangladesh in July–August 2024. According to diplomatic sources, before the overthrow of Hasina’s regime, India issued more than eight thousand visas to Bangladesh daily through several Indian visa centers in Bangladesh. However, after a major disruption from July to August 2024, India’s visa application centers opened sporadically due to security threats. According to diplomatic sources, India issued approximately 3,000 medical and student visas and at the time of the swearing-in of BNP Chairman Tariq Rahman, who became the new Prime Minister of Bangladesh on 17 February 2026.
The visa announcements came soon after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday (February 20, 2026) expressed its willingness to move forward with the bilateral relationship. External Affairs Ministry official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at Friday’s weekly briefing, “India builds on the warm and historic ties between the two countries and looks forward to further strengthening our multifaceted bilateral relations with Bangladesh.”
Published – 21 Feb 2026 15:04 IST
