When a foreigner enters Bangladesh, he enters with specific visas as set by the requirements of the land. Procuring a work permit and visas in Bangladesh could be a hurdle some process at times. If a foreign expat wants to enter Bangladesh, he needs to apply and obtain work permit from the Board of Investment in Bangladesh. Obtaining visa and work permit
was previously very difficult but since the Government of Bangladesh is encouraging more foreign investments within the country, the sector of providing visa and work permit has flourished and the system has been now dealt on an online basis, for convenience.
In the following we have discussed the procedure of obtaining some important visas, you may also look into the short description of our Immigration services here, which are often applied by the foreign expats, to enter Bangladesh:
Top Priority based
A3 visa
Applicable to Experts / advisers / officials / staff members / labors working in any project under the bilateral / multilateral agreement between Bangladesh government and development partner agencies.
The visa is issued upon submitting all the required documents to the respective Bangladeshi Embassy along with the recommendation of the Embassy or relevant ministry/ Economic Relation Department/ relevant government Agency. The length of the visa given is for the period of the employment or five years, whichever is shorter, depending upon the desecration of the visa issuing authority (respective Bangladeshi embassy).
Upon expiry of the visa, the expatriate can apply for the extension of the visa to the Department of Immigration and Passport (DIP). The DIP upon receiving the recommendation of the concerned Ministry / Economic Relation Department of the Ministry of Finance / relevant government agency of Bangladesh, Security Clearance and taking into account the conditions of the agreement between the Government and the development partner can extend the visa for the full employment period or up to five years, whichever is shorter.
B visa
Applicable to businessmen / business representatives. The visa is issued by the respective Bangladeshi Embassy upon receiving all the required documents along with the recommendation of recognized chambers of commerce OR recommendation of the local sponsor in Bangladesh. Embassy issues a maximum of six month visa.
Upon expiry of the visa, the expatriate can apply for the extension of the visa to the Department of Immigration and Passport (DIP). The DIP upon receiving security clearance and the recommendation of the local sponsor can extend the visa for a maximum of three months.
E visa
Applicable to Experts / advisers / employees / individuals appointed in government / semi-government/ autonomous bodies / projects and equivalent organizations, OR individuals employed in local/ foreign government / semi-government/ liaison / Industrial / commercial organizations or other equivalent organizations OR individuals appointed under local / foreign government / semi-government contractor ship and in equivalent organizations. Embassy upon receiving all the required documents along with the recommendation from the concerned Ministry in Bangladesh / Bangladesh Board of Investment (BOI) / Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) issue the visa for maximum of three months.
Upon expiry of the visa, the expatriate can apply for the extension of the visa to the Department of Immigration and Passport (DIP). The DIP upon receiving the security clearance and the work permit can extend the visa for the full employment period or maximum three years, whichever is shorter.
E1 visa
Applicable to individuals visiting for supply / installation / maintenance of equipment and software / supervision of project. Embassy upon receiving all the required documents along with the recommendation from the concerned Ministry in Bangladesh / Bangladesh Board of Investment (BOI) / Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) and the invitation letter from the local sponsor, issue the visa for maximum of three months.
Upon expiry of the visa, the expatriate can apply for the extension of the visa to the Department of Immigration and Passport (DIP). The DIP upon receiving the security clearance and the work permit can extend the visa for the full employment period or maximum three years, whichever is shorter.
PI visa
Applicable to investors in existing / new/ under construction/ upcoming industrial / commercial entity in the private sector under joint venture or 100% foreign owned company. Embassy upon receiving all the required documents along with the recommendation from Bangladesh Board of Investment (BOI) / Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) certifying that the applicant is a genuine investor, issue the visa for maximum of one year.
Upon expiry of the visa, the expatriate can apply for the extension of the visa to the Department of Immigration and Passport (DIP). The DIP upon receiving recommendation letter from BOI stating that the investment is continuing, recommendation letter from relevant organization (company in which the investment is made) and security clearance along with other requisite documents, can extend the visa for maximum of five years.
T visa
Applicable to citizen of any country having diplomatic relations with Bangladesh or individual attending seminar / symposium / study tour. Embassy upon receiving all the required documents, issue the visa for maximum of 2 months.
Upon expiry of the visa, the visa holder can apply for the extension of the visa to the Department of Immigration and Passport (DIP). DIP can extend the visa for maximum one month.
Medium Priority based
A1 visa
Applicable to Officials of government / semi-government / autonomous bodies / members of government delegation and entourage, accompanying spouse and dependent children. Embassy upon receiving Note Verbally from the sending government/ examining the relevant documents for travelling shall issue the visa for a period which is necessary for from the purpose of the visit.
Upon expiry of the visa, the visa holder can apply for the extension of the visa to the Department of Immigration and Passport (DIP). The DIP upon receiving recommendation letter from the relevant ministry/ Organizer can extend the visa for a period which is necessary for from the purpose of the visit.
J visa
Applicable to Journalists of newspapers / magazines / TV or radio networks / news agencies / representatives of print, electronic or satellite media / freelance journalists. For issuance of one time J category visa for limited period, the Embassy shall require a clearance from External Publicity Wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka is required along with other required documents. The Embassy may issue visa for maximum of one month. For issues of J type visa with three entries, the Embassy shall examine the employment documents and issue visa for maximum of 3 months.
Such visas can be extended by DIP for maximum of three years or full employment period, whichever is shorter, upon receiving the security clearance from the home ministry, work permit from BOI and recommendation from External Publicity Wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
TF visa
Applicable to spouse and children of Bangladesh citizens and spouse and children of Foreign nationals of Bangladesh origin. . Embassy shall require proof of Bangladesh citizenship and
Affidavit confirming relationship as spouse/ children and birth / marriage certificate to issue visa for a maximum of one year.
Such visa can be extended by DIP based on police report for maximum of five years.
TR visa
Applicable to individuals transiting through Bangladesh on way to a third country on appointment. Such visa is issued on recommendation of the appointing authority certifying the appointment in the third country and confirmed ticket for maximum of five years or period of employment, whichever is shorter, with multiple entries (However, Transit visa is restricted to 72 hours for each entry).
W visa
Applicable to individual traveling under “Work and Holiday” Agreement, Development & Volunteers program and under bilateral / multilateral agreements; their spouses and children. The embassy shall issue visa for a period as per the conditions of the agreement.
Such visas can be extended by DIP based on the security clearance and recommendation from the appropriate authority for the necessary period of time.
Least Priority based
A visa
Applicable to Head of State / Head of Government / Ministers / State Ministers / Deputy Ministers /Member of Parliament / Provincial Assembly Members / Mayors / or persons with equivalent status and their entourage, accompanying spouse and dependant members of their family.
Visa is issued by the visa issuing authority upon receiving NoteVerbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the sending government for the necessary period of time.
C visa
Applicable for crew members of airlines / ships / vessels / other transports in international route.
Visa is issued by the visa issuing authority upon receiving Recommendation of the appointing authority.
ND visa
Applicable to personal staff of Principal visiting with A, A2 and D category visa and Non-diplomatic staff members and their spouses and dependent members of their family. The visa is issued by the visa issuing authority upon receiving the Note Verbale from the sending government for the necessary period of time.
The visa can be extended by making application through the relevant embassy to the DIP.
Other Information
Foreign citizens/nationals of India, Pakistan and South Korea traveling to Bangladesh by air with a valid visa for 90 days or more are required to REGISTER at the airport. In case of entry through land port, such registration should be completed at the nearest District Special Branch (DSB) / City Special Branch (CSB).
Application for extension of visa should be submitted before expiration of the existing visa. Penalty for over-stay will be imposed if application for extension of visa is submitted after the date of expiry of the visa.
If the over stay is less than a month, fine can be paid to the custom authority while departing from Bangladesh. However, if the over stay is more than one month, then DIP needs to be informed and they shall inform the visa holder about the required procedure to be followed.
If the over stay is less than 15 days then the fine is BDT 200 to 300 per day and if the over stay is for than 15 days then the fine is BDT 1000.
Work Permit
The Government of Bangladesh, designated the Bangladesh Board of Investment (BOI) to arrange the work permit for expats, will to work in Bangladesh. Private sector, liaison/representative office, industrial enterprises, branch office, desiring to employ foreign nationals needs to apply to BOI in a prescribed from. In an industrial/commercial establishments employment of expatriate personnel will be considered only, which are sanctioned/registered by the appropriate authority. Initially, term of employment of any foreign national is considered for two years, which may be extended on the basis of merit of the case. The Ministry of Home Affairs shall issue necessary security clearance certificate that will be required. The foreign national should arriving in Bangladesh shall either arrive with “E” (for employees) or “PI” (for investor) type visa. BOI’s recommendation is necessary prior to issuing those types of visa. All the documents submitted to the BOI shall have to be attested by the Managing Director/Managing Partner/Proprietor of the Company/Firm.
Last modified on Wednesday, 06 May 2020 12:07