(INDIA) — Bangladesh’s diplomatic missions across India resumed full tourist visa services for Indians starting Monday, February 24, 2026, ending a two-month suspension imposed on December 22, 2025.

The restart follows a review of the security situation after Bangladesh’s election period and comes days after Tarique Rahman’s BNP-led government was sworn in on February 17, 2026.

A Bangladesh Foreign Ministry official confirmed the reopening and said the decision came after assessing overall security conditions post-election.

The earlier suspension disrupted cross-border travel and economic activity, with tourist visas largely halted except in urgent cases even as some other categories continued.

Bangladesh kept issuing medical, business and work visas on a discretionary basis during the freeze, but the broader pause in tourist processing still hit routine travel between the two countries.

Security protests outside diplomatic premises triggered the suspension, which coincided with the election period that ran from January 15 to February 15.

The stoppage had a sharp effect on people who rely on short-notice travel, including patients seeking care and companies that typically travel for in-person meetings.

More than 25,000 Indian patients bound for Bangladeshi hospitals postponed medical treatment during the period when tourist visas were suspended.

Garment exporters shifted meetings to virtual platforms, reflecting the difficulty of arranging cross-border visits while tourist processing remained largely frozen.

Tourism revenue fell 18% year-on-year during the stoppage, adding to pressure from travel-linked businesses for a resumption of regular processing.

Consular operations will run under set token hours of 08:30–11:00 a.m., giving applicants a daily window for access to the system as missions work through demand after the pause.

Bangladesh set processing times at three working days for most categories, though consular officials warned an initial backlog was likely as applications return after weeks of limited tourist issuance.

Applicants can submit through VFS Global centres or lodge applications directly at the mission, offering two routes as the tourist channel reopens across multiple cities.

Bangladesh will require biometrics for first-time applicants, a step that can add an additional procedural requirement for those who have not previously applied.

The resumption applies across all Bangladeshi diplomatic missions in India, extending beyond one or two posts and covering the full network that handles visa demand.

Missions included in the restart are the High Commission in New Delhi and posts in Guwahati, Agartala, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Travel industry groups welcomed the decision, including the Indo-Bangla Chamber, which forecast a swift rebound in medical-tourism flows and border trade as movement normalizes.

The reopening also lands amid expectations that Indian authorities may reciprocate by reinstating visa-on-arrival for Bangladeshi business visitors, a facility India suspended in January.

No formal announcement has been made on that possible move, leaving the focus for now on Bangladesh’s restart of tourist visa services and how quickly missions can absorb the initial backlog after security protests and the election period.