India will start granting fresh tourist visas to travellers from Bangladesh and other countries from November 15, according to Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram K Doraiswami.
“Only single-entry visas will be given initially, and only to air travellers,” the envoy told reporters at Akhaura land port on Tuesday.
The visas will remain valid for 120 days and people travelling with such visas will be able to stay in India for a maximum of 30 days, he added.
The facility will later be extended to people seeking to travel by road and trains, Doraiswami said.
India had stopped issuing foreigners visas of all categories after the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic last year.
It initially resumed granting tourist visas on October 15 but only to people entering the country by chartered flights.
Due to the pandemic, people with tourist visas from Bangladesh have been able to fly to India only on scheduled air bubble flights.
Doraiswami also spoke about several bilateral issues on Tuesday. “Bangladesh-India relations are now better than ever,” he said, before praising the Bangladesh government’s measures to maintain communal harmony.
The Akhaura upazila nirbahi officer and the Akhaura police OC had greeted the Indian high commissioner at the zero line upon his arrival.
Doraiswami later left for India through the land port. He is expected to return to Bangladesh on November 13.
