India speeds up the issuance of visas to Bangladeshis

Visa images, collected.

By Imtiaz Ahmed

As India is gradually relaxing the visa process and increased the number of visas to Bangladeshis from the end of th8s August, outbound tourism of Bangladesh is expected to rise in the coming months, sources said

As most of the South-east Asian countries tighten issuing visas to Bangladeshi tourists, India increased issuing visas to Bangladeshis last month, sources in  Dhaka, Kolkata and New Delhi said.

According to Business Line of India, over 74,000 Bangladeshi citizens visited India during the month of August as against 44,000 Bangladeshi citizens in the previous month, showing nearly 70 per cent jump.

Diplomatic sources said countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam and Singapore have tightened issuing visas to Bangladeshis citing examples of  human trafficking and counterfeit papers and documents.

However, the number of issued visas is very less compared to the figures issued before the Covid period, said a director of  the Tour Operators of Association of Bangladesh (TOAB).

Before Covid-19, the high Commission of India used to issue 8,000-10,000 visas every day that is now less than 3,000—3500 per day, sources said

Since the political tension between Bangladesh and India over the unceremonious departure of former dictator Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in July uprising of 2024 through mass protests, the Indian government gradually increased issuance of tourist visas to Bangladeshis last month, sources in Dhaka, New Delhi and Kolkata said.

The scenario has changed as the Modi government sent a high commissioner with a status of minister and new Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi  on June 25, 2026 said that India will resume issuing tourist visas to Bangladeshi nationals after nearly two years marking the restoration of its regular visa services.

The political tensions between the two neighbouring countries will ease after the high-level visits of political leaders, said diplomats, business leaders and senior journalists

The envoy made the announcement while visiting the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) at Jamuna Future Park in the capital after presenting his credentials to the then, President Mohammed Shahabuddin at Bangabhaban on June 25, 2026

“I am happy to announce that we are resuming our normal visa operation. Applications for tourist visas can be submitted,” Dinesh Trivedi said. 

He said visas would continue to be issued through the five IVACs located in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chattogram, Sylhet and Khulna.

“We hope that this will further strengthen the people-to-people ties between our two sovereign nations,” Trivedi observed.

India recorded 722,705 foreign tourist arrivals in July 2026, marking a 5.34% increase compared to the same period in the previous year according to the Ministry of Tourism Dashboard. The number of Bangladeshi tourists stood at  44,000 --7.53 per cent of the total tourist.

Foreign tourist arrivals rose 10.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis in August, the fastest growth in a single month in over two years, provisional data compiled by the Ministry of Tourism shows.

However, India received 6.91 lakh foreign tourists in August compared to 6.25 lakh in the same month last year.

Bangladesh contributed to the rise helping tourist arrivals record double digit growth for the first time since February 2024.

Arrivals from Bangladesh, which until 2023 was the largest source market, rose 80 per cent. 

The top two source markets - US and UK delivered 3 per cent growth in August whereas footfalls from Canada, Germany, Malaysia and Sri Lanka (which are among top 10 source markets) grew by 10-15 per cent.

According to statistics of the  Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB), 585,145 foreign tourists visited Bangladesh in 2025, while the figure was 633,094 in 2024, meaning the number of foreign tourists dropped by 47,949, or 7.6 percent, in one year. In 2023, Bangladesh received 655,451 foreign tourists.

Foreign tourists usually travel Bangladesh during the October—February period. As the law and order situation suffered during the period of the interim government of Professor Dr Mohammad Yunus of 18 months, the number of tourists dropped during that period.

As Bangladesh held the national parliament election on February 12, 2026,and subsequently the holy Ramadhan began in mid-February, the number of tourists also dropped during the winter and spring seasons, said a director of Tour Operators of Association of Bangladesh (TOAB) .

The country recorded 239,400 foreign tourist arrivals in the first six months of 2026, down around 20 percent year-on-year, according to data of the Special Branch of Police and Bangladesh Bank, compiled by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. However, the number of tourists is expected to rise during the period of October–January period, said a high official of Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB).

This is the second consecutive year of drop since Bangladesh welcomed more than 667,000 foreign visitors in 2023. The country received 585,145 foreign visitors in 2025, down 4 percent year-on-year.

Against this backdrop, Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) has recently proposed 60 development projects worth around BDT 190 billion to tap the potential of the tourism industry and increase its contribution to the national economy. The proposals have reportedly been submitted to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh celebrated World Tourism Day September 27, with a colourful rally, a bicycle procession and a city tour for underprivileged children, opening a week-long programme highlighting the future of tourism.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) has designated the global theme for this year's World Tourism Day as "Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism."