India Resumes Tourist Visas for Bangladeshi Nationals After Nearly Two Years

India is reopening tourist visa applications for Bangladeshi nationals from Sunday, 28 June 2026, ending a suspension that has been in place since August 2024. India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Dinesh Trivedi, announced the resumption on Thursday, 25 June, during a visit to the Indian Visa Application Centre at Jamuna Future Park in Dhaka. Applications will be accepted at five centres across Bangladesh from the start date. For Bangladeshi travellers who want to visit relatives, see the country, or transit through India, the tourist route is open again for the first time in close to two years.

Background

India suspended tourist visa services for Bangladeshi applicants in August 2024, after a period of serious unrest. According to reporting from both countries, the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in Dhaka was set ablaze on 5 August 2024, five visa application centres came under attack, and Indian staff were threatened. India kept the suspension in place for tourist travel while continuing to process other categories. The reopening is being described on both sides as a step toward normalising relations between the two neighbours after that disruption.

What exactly changed

Tourist visa applications from Bangladeshi nationals will be accepted again from 28 June 2026. India will initially take applications through five Indian Visa Application Centres, in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong, Sylhet and Khulna. The change applies specifically to the tourist category. Other categories did not stop during the suspension: India continued to process medical visas and urgent applications on humanitarian grounds throughout, handling more than 1,500 visas a day in non-tourist categories, according to figures cited in the coverage. The announcement was made verbally by the High Commissioner rather than through a written notification, so applicants should rely on the official visa application centre channels for procedural detail.

Who it affects

This change matters most for Bangladeshi nationals who want to travel to India as tourists, including people visiting family across the border, travellers heading on to onward destinations, and those who were previously limited to the medical route. It is a movement-and-travel change rather than a residence or work change, so it does not by itself create a path to living or working in India. People who had been using the medical visa category for trips that were not strictly medical now have the correct route available again.

What this means in practice

If you are a Bangladeshi national planning to visit India, you can begin a tourist visa application from 28 June 2026 at one of the five named centres. Because India has not published detailed written guidance alongside the announcement, confirm current requirements, fees and processing times directly with the Indian Visa Application Centre before applying, and allow time given the likely demand after a long closure. You can read more about entry and travel context in our India country guide at /country-guides/india. As always, treat this as orientation and check the official channels for the rules that apply to your specific case.