Bangladesh may reopen visa services for Indians as Tarique Rahman takes charge

In a significant development in its ties with India that saw a low after the fall of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024, Bangladesh on Friday (February 20) took a stance to loosen its visa and consular services at its missions located in India, including in New Delhi, Siliguri and Agartala.

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The services, which were put under strong restrictions since late December 2025 amid concerns over security and protests near the diplomatic premises, saw the unloosing three days after Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) took over as the new prime minister after his party swept the much-anticipated general elections in the country on February 12.

In a further sign of normalisation of ties, preparations have begun to resume the India-Bangladesh bus service connecting Agartala with Kolkata via Dhaka.

Visa normalisation soon?

If reports are to be believed, Dhaka is moving towards normalising visa facilities for Indian nationals. However, Bangladeshi authorities are yet to issue an official notification on the matter.

The Bangladesh High Commission in India has reportedly restored all visa categories for Indians. While business and work-related visas were being issued since late December, other categories, such as medical and tourism, saw serious restrictions. They have now reportedly been reinstated, marking the early confidence-rebuilding measures between the two nations that have been allies since Bangladesh’s liberation in 1971.

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There were also reports saying that the demand for Bangladesh tourist visas also saw a rise among Indian citizens. Several people, particularly from the state of West Bengal, visit that country every year to witness their ancestral places, as the erstwhile province of Bengal in British India was divided in 1947.

Operator plans to resume Dhaka bus

In more good news for such tourists, the Royal-Maitri international bus service, which has been suspended for a year because of visa issues and a sharp decline in the number of passengers, began a trial run on Saturday for resumption of the service.

Manoranjan Debnath, the manager of the international bus service operator, told news agency PTI that no fresh permission is needed to recommence the service as the agreement between the governments has not been cancelled. With the situation improving, the operator now seeks to recommence the service and initiated a trial run.

Asked whether they have the authorisation to resume the service, Debnath said there was no need to seek permission as the bilateral agreement between India and Bangladesh, which was signed in 2001, had not been cancelled. “We just halted the bus service because of acute shortage of passengers due to some unavoidable issues…. With the situation improving in Bangladesh, we want to resume bus service from next week,” he said.

Dhaka, New Delhi keen to mend ties

Strengthening of visa services makes it evident that the new government in Dhaka is keen to reset ties with New Delhi, something which was not seen under the previous interim set-up led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.

During this time that lasted a year and a half after Hasina’s ouster following an upheaval staged by the Bangladeshi youth, anti-India sentiments found a deep root in the country’s soil, with even countries such as Pakistan and Turkey, which are not known to be friendly towards India, reaching out to Dhaka.

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The development also put into focus the improvement in ties at the leadership level. Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to his Bangladeshi counterpart soon after his party emerged victorious in the election. The Bangladeshi side also invited Modi to attend Rahman’s swearing-in, and Om Birla, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, attended it.

He also gave PM Rahman a letter from Modi conveying a formal invitation to visit India at the earliest convenience.

India to return favours

India was also set to reciprocate with all categories of its visas waiting to see a return to the normal processing levels, said sources in the country’s diplomatic establishment in Sylhet, Bangladesh.

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According to a report by Bangladesh’s The Daily Star, Aniruddha Das, assistant high commissioner of the Assistant High Commission of India in Sylhet, told reporters at a local press club this week that while medical and double-entry visas were being issued at the moment, initiatives have been taken to restart travel visas and other categories too.

Assuring full cooperation in visa issuance, Das emphasised its significance in reinforcing ties between the neighbouring countries.