Efforts are underway to reopen additional Indian Visa Application Centres (IVACs) in Bangladesh, with authorities aiming to restore the visa processing system to full capacity by April.
Currently, five IVACs are operating and issuing around 1,500 visas daily under categories including medical, education, business and employment, although tourist visas remain suspended.
Officials in both Dhaka and New Delhi said the system could return to full operation next month if preparations progress as planned, though no formal announcement has yet been made.
Visa services were partially suspended after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024, when mobs attacked five IVACs across Bangladesh.
During the tenure of the interim government, visa issuance continued on a limited scale, but no major step was taken to restore full operations.
Before the disruption, 16 IVACs across Bangladesh processed more than 8,000 visas daily.
The situation began to improve after the BNP-led government assumed office following the February national election.
A telephone conversation between Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi helped create a positive tone for renewed bilateral engagement.
Dhaka later restored full visa services for Indian nationals, which had been partially suspended last year after attacks by Hindu extremists on the Bangladesh mission in New Delhi.
Officials said both governments are now focusing on strengthening people-to-people contact, with the restoration of full visa operations seen as a key step.
Bangladesh hosts India’s largest visa operation in the world, with the capacity to issue more than 1.5 million visas annually.
A senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Bangladesh’s visa operations have already returned to normal after the election.
“Dhaka’s visa operations were partially suspended earlier, but after the election they have become fully functional,” the official said.
Regarding India’s visa processing in Bangladesh, an Indian High Commission diplomat said the mission is currently operating five of the 16 IVACs with limited manpower.
“We are operating with five centres in limited capacity and deploying additional human resources so the IVACs can gradually return to full operation,” the diplomat said.
When asked about the timeline, the diplomat said the process will take time.
“It is a large operation, and we are trying to reopen the remaining centres as soon as possible,” the diplomat added.
