India issues record number of visas to Bangladeshis in 2016

Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Harsh Vardhan Shringla has said Bangladeshis are getting benefits of an eased the visa process as they have issued a “record” number of visas in 2016.

“Our efforts for easing visa for Bangladesh nationals have yielded outstanding results,” he said on Wednesday while inaugurating a new visa centre at border district Jessore.

The latest addition has taken the number of Indian visa centres to 12 in Bangladesh, which is the highest India has anywhere in the world.

“Last year, in 2016, we issued close to one million visas to Bangladesh nationals; this is a record,” the envoy said.

“It is the highest number of visas issued in a year and represents a manifold increase over the previous years,” Shringla added.

“Our efforts in 2017 will be to further ease access, simplify procedures and to reach out to people all over Bangladesh who wish to travel to India,” he said, highlighting the measures India had taken to ease visas for Bangladeshis.

“This is only a testimony to the strong bonds of friendship between India and Bangladesh.”

“People from our countries have ties of family across the border and distance is only physical, emotionally we are one people,” he said.

India took “a number of unprecedented initiatives” last year to facilitate travel of Bangladesh people and relax the visa regime.

A visa camp before the Eid holidays in June was organised and more than 55,000 people got visas under the scheme.  A similar camp was organised for students in October.

The high commissioner said no one in Bangladesh with a confirmed journey ticket to India needs a prior appointment date to submit visa application now.

“We accord the highest priority to improving and streamlining visa services for the people of Bangladesh,” he said.