Overview
- India’s new High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, announced on Thursday that tourist visa applications will be accepted from June 28 at five Indian Visa Application Centres.
- The Ministry of Home Affairs granted Trivedi the ceremonial status equivalent to a Union Cabinet minister and he presented his credentials to President Mohammed Shahabuddin before making the visa announcement.
- Tourist visas were suspended after violent attacks on Indian establishments in Bangladesh in August 2024 and during the freeze India continued to process medical and other urgent visas, reportedly issuing more than 1,500 non‑tourist visas daily.
- The initial rollout will use five IVACs in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chattogram, Sylhet and Khulna with officials saying the service will be expanded later and that medical and humanitarian visas will remain prioritised.
- Officials describe the decision as a confidence‑building step that could ease travel for patients, students and tourists but analysts warn bilateral frictions over border management and migration mean normalisation will remain cautious.