India is going to issue a 5-year travel visa to Bangladeshis

The Dhaka Times Desk India plans to issue long-term 'multiple-entry' travel visas to Bangladeshi nationals. The matter is awaiting the approval of the concerned authorities of India.

Recently, India's Minister of State for Home Kiren Riju said in Parliament, 'The proposal to approve 5-year long-term multiple-entry visa for Bangladeshi citizens above 65 years of age is under consideration. Discussions are going on with other relevant authorities for this reason.

The country's state minister for home affairs also said, "The opinion of the state governments and security agencies and other authorities will be taken into consideration before taking the final decision."

Meanwhile, other states of India including Assam and West Bengal bordering Bangladesh have been opposing this initiative from the beginning. Their comment is that if such an initiative is taken, the flow of people will come down at the border.

A senior official of the country's Ministry of Home Affairs said that whatever the decision is, it will be finalized through proper discussions with the state governments. However, there is currently no possibility of allowing Bangladeshis to enter India without a visa (free-entry).

The officials also said that we have no proposal to allow Bangladeshis below 18 years and above 65 years of age to enter India without visa.

The e-tourist visa system is open for citizens of 150 countries at 16 airports in India. Inclusion of more countries in this system is under process.

As the decision to grant 'refugee status' to illegal Hindu-immigrants from Bangladesh and Pakistan has been taken, India is considering all aspects very seriously before finalizing the new visa issue.

Bangladesh has been demanding long-term visa from India for a long time. Concerned officials of the Bangladesh government have also raised the matter with the Indian officials several times. However, no decision has been taken on the matter yet.