No visa-free entry for Bangladeshis: Home ministry

June 28, 2014

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to thwart any move to provide visa-free entry for Bangladesh nationals. The MHA has opposed the proposal of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to provide visa-on-arrival facility to Bangladeshi nationals and visa- free entry to citizens of that country under the age of 18 and over the age of 65.
This shows a change in government’s policy as former home minister Sushilkumar Shinde was in support of the liberalized visa agreement with Bangladesh. However, MHA, under Rajnath Singh, has rejected the twin proposals sent by the MEA ahead of foreign minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Bangladesh. The MHA has cited security concerns to scrap the proposal of a visa-free entry.
However, MHA has said that such Bangladesh citizens, under the age of 18 and over the age of 65, can be granted long-term tourist visas on the condition that they would have to report to the FRRO’s every year during their stay.
It can be recalled that PM Narendra Modi had, during the election campaign said that if the BJP came to power, illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in India would be expatriated.

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