Limited Visa Appointment Slots Opened at Indian Centers in Bangladesh.
Indian Visa Application Centres (IVAC) across major cities in Bangladesh—Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Sylhet, and Khulna—have resumed offering a limited number of visa appointment slots. These slots are available for Bangladeshi nationals in need of urgent medical or student visas.
The IVAC announced that these centers are also providing limited appointments for “urgent cases” where Bangladeshi students and workers need to travel to third countries and already hold visa appointments with foreign embassies in India. These services will remain restricted until normal operations are fully restored.
The move follows a temporary closure of IVAC centers last week, prompted by protests from hundreds of applicants demanding faster visa processing. IVAC acknowledged the delays caused by reduced operations and stated that passports would be returned for reprocessing once normal operations resume. Applicants will be informed via SMS when to resubmit their documents.
Social media posts captured images of long lines at the Indian Visa Centre in Jamuna Mall, with users attributing the delays to staff shortages. Protests erupted as people demanded the return of their passports. An official from the Indian High Commission confirmed that while passports were being returned, applications would remain active for future processing.
The unrest in Bangladesh intensified following the Sheikh Hasina government’s introduction of a controversial quota system. The resulting protests led to the removal of the Hasina-led Awami League government in August.