India to Resume Tourist Visas for Bangladeshi Nationals After Two-Year Hiatus

India will resume issuing tourist visas to Bangladeshi nationals from June 28, nearly two years after scaling back visa operations following attacks on its diplomatic establishments in Bangladesh. The announcement was made by India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, during a visit to the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) at Jamuna Future Park in Dhaka on Thursday. “I am very happy to announce that we are resuming our normal visa applications for tourist visas, which can be submitted from Sunday, 28th June 2026,” Trivedi said. He added that India would continue to facilitate medical visas and other urgent applications on humanitarian grounds. Trivedi said tourist visa applications will initially be accepted through five Indian Visa Application Centres located in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong, Sylhet and Khulna. The service is expected to be expanded further in the future. “We hope that this will further strengthen the people-to-people ties between our sovereign nations,” he said. Regardless of the suspension of tourist visas, India continued issuing more than 1,500 visas daily under other categories. Medical visas, emergency travel documents and humanitarian cases continued to be processed on priority. India scaled down its visa operations in Bangladesh following unrest in August 2024 that affected its diplomatic establishments and visa centres. On August 5, 2024, the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area was ransacked and set on fire. Five Indian Visa Application Centres across Bangladesh also came under attack, while Indian personnel working on development projects reportedly received threats. The security situation prompted the Indian mission to suspend tourist visa services while continuing essential and emergency visa processing.Earlier on Thursday, Trivedi, who recently took charge as India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, presented his credentials to Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin at Bangabhaban in Dhaka. He was accorded a ceremonial welcome, including a guard of honour. The decision to restart tourist visas comes at a time when India and Bangladesh continue to face diplomatic challenges over several issues, including border management, illegal migration and the political fallout from the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Hasina’s stay in India after leaving office remains a sensitive issue in bilateral ties, with Bangladesh seeking her extradition. Border tensions have also increased amid India’s efforts to deport illegal Bangladeshi nationals, leading to occasional standoffs between the Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).