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Bangladesh extends visa restrictions for Indians to Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai missions

Bangladesh has expanded its visa restrictions for Indian nationals, suspending most visa categories at its deputy high commissions in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai from Thursday, citing security concerns amid rising bilateral tensions.

3 min readUpdated: Jan 8, 2026 12:38 PM IST

Members of the Vishwa Hindu Mahasangh burn an effigy of Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, in front of the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission office in Guwahati. (ANI Photo)

Bangladesh has further tightened visa restrictions for Indian nationals. The visa suspension now extends to its deputy high commissions in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai from Thursday, reported the Dhaka Tribune.

Quoting the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka Tribune reported that the decision was conveyed on Wednesday night, citing security considerations. India and Bangladesh relation has been strained since ousted PM Sheikh Hasina took refuge in the country.

Earlier, India shut two visa application centres in Bangladesh’s Khulna and Rajshahi due to the ongoing security situation and anti-India protests in the country. A day later, Bangladesh High Commission suspended visa and consular services in New Delhi.

Applications under several visa categories suspended

Under the new measures, all visa categories have been suspended except business and employment visas. According to the report in the Dhaka Tribune, consular and visa services have been completely halted at the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata. Tourist and other visa services have also been stopped at missions in Mumbai and Chennai.

An official at the Kolkata mission told the daily that the decision was taken on instructions from higher authorities and that only business and employment visas are now being processed.

Restrictions extended as per the previous order

The latest move follows an earlier round of restrictions imposed on December 22. At that time, Bangladesh suspended visa issuance and consular services at its High Commission in New Delhi, the Assistant High Commission in Agartala, Tripura, and the visa centre in Siliguri.

Consular services were also halted at the Bangladesh mission in Guwahati, Assam. With the new curbs, the issuance of Bangladeshi visas for Indians is now limited to a very small number of categories and locations.

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Bangladesh says visa services restricted for security reasons

As per the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, the fresh restrictions were introduced due to security concerns linked to ongoing tensions between India and Bangladesh.

The Bangladeshi foreign ministry said the review of visa services was part of a wider assessment of the situation. However, no timeline has been given for the restoration of normal services.

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