By IANS
Dhaka : Bangladesh has eased visa rules for foreigners to attract investment and tourism, but has excluded eight members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) from the relaxation.
A home affairs ministry notification issued last week said foreign citizens of Bangladesh origin, their spouses and children, would require no visa to enter Bangladesh. However, it won’t be applicable to people who are now citizens of other SAARC nations, the notification said.
South Asian nations among themselves do not encourage visa-free travel because of the age-old movement of people for jobs and safe homes, much of which defies national immigration laws.
India in particular has been alleging illegal migration from Bangladesh, having a 4,000 km porous border. However, it has an open visa-free border with Nepal.
Pakistan and Afghanistan too have migration problems across a porous border, while Bhutan has been objecting to population movement from Nepal.
Foreigners coming to Bangladesh on business purposes may get three years’ multiple visa for stay of six months at a stretch. Sponsors’ recommendation and police report will be required in this regard. Foreign technologists can have the visas extended by a month.
Foreign media persons will get visas for a month at best, if the visa-issuing authority or the external publicity wing of the foreign ministry does not have any objection, New Age newspaper said Wednesday.
The passports of such foreign citizens will be stamped “No visa required for travel to Bangladesh” seal for a payment of $50, the notification said.
Bangladesh missions abroad will stamp the seal on the passport of such people on some conditions, the notification said.
The holders of such passports will need to produce the certificates of dual citizenships, valid Bangladeshi passports, birth certificates or citizenship certificates received from the union councils, municipal corporations or city corporations in Bangladesh.
The spouses or children of Bangladeshi-origin foreign citizens will also need to show such documents. The spouses of the beneficiaries of new rules or their parents need to submit affidavits in favour of the beneficiaries.
In the cases of their spouses or children with foreign citizenship, Bangladeshi citizens will need to submit marriage certificates, affidavits and police reports.
No police certificates will be required for the citizens of European Union countries, the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The education certificates, passport or certificates received from local government offices in Bangladesh may prove the citizenship of the applicants.
The home ministry said potential foreign investors, technologists and tourists may get 30 days’ visa on arrival or landing permit at the immigration at Zia International Airport.