Bangladesh halts on-arrival visas till February 15

Bangladesh has suspended the on-arrival visa facility for all eligible countries from today until February 15 to prevent any untoward incident during the upcoming election.

Speaking to reporters at the foreign ministry yesterday, Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain said, “We’ve been instructed to do so to avoid untoward incidents during the polls. Unexpected people may come here. They should not come here all of a sudden.

“We are not stopping visas. They can still come with regular visas, not on-arrival ones.”

Earlier on Monday, the home ministry issued a guideline to streamline entry procedures for foreigners while maintaining security and effective monitoring during the election period.

The guideline said existing policies must be strictly followed when issuing all types of visas, including verification of required documents, and that coordination among concerned agencies should be strengthened.

It had not, however, specified that on-arrival visas were suspended.

The suspension was later confirmed through a Facebook post by the Bhutan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, which said the Bangladesh embassy in Thimphu had officially conveyed the decision to suspend on-arrival visas for all eligible countries, including Bhutan.

Asked about the interim government’s interest in principle in joining an International Stabilization Force (ISF) for Gaza, Touhid said Bangladesh has not yet taken a decision on sending forces.

“It is still at the discussion level. It has not been determined who will be part of this initiative. Most importantly, three conditions have been mentioned clearly. Under no circumstances will Bangladesh join without an environment consistent with those conditions.”

Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on Monday said the conditions include that the ISF must be temporary and operate under a clear UN Security Council mandate, there must be a permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza, and responsibility for Gaza must be transferred to the Palestinians.

Asked whether such discussions were appropriate as the interim government’s tenure nears its end, Touhid said, “The tenure is ending with the February 12 election, but a government will be there.”

He added that the country’s engagement and interests do not change overnight and the government would not act against national interests.

On recent conflicts in Rakhine spilling over into Bangladesh, he said his ministry summoned the Myanmar government envoy and protested the firing incident that injured a child in Teknaf, seeking assurances to prevent any recurrence.

“The Myanmar government does not recognise the rebel group as a legal entity and Bangladesh cannot formally communicate with it,” he said, adding that the conflicts in Rakhine began long ago and are unlikely to end anytime soon.

On reports of Bangladesh and China working towards setting up a military drone factory in Bangladesh, Touhid said the country’s military capacity needs to be developed and efforts are underway to do so. “We will not do anything to deteriorate our relations with any country. We’ll keep a balance,” he said.