The Indian High Commission in Bangladesh has returned nearly 20,000 passports of Bangladeshi visa applicants due to protests and security concerns, according to reports from Indian media.

A diplomatic source at the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said, "The passports were returned to the applicants in the last one and a half months because we had to run the visa section with a very small number of staff."

The source clarified that the inability to process visas was not a policy decision but rather a result of the majority of visa officials not attending the office because of safety issues.

Emergency cases, such as medical patients requiring urgent attention, student visas for those joining courses in India, and double-entry visas for individuals needing to apply for a third-country visa, are still being processed.

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Indian visa application centres open limited slots for urgent medical, student visas

Following the protests that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, Indian visa application centres in Bangladesh have largely remained shut.

Frustrated applicants have sent multiple emails to the High Commission, with some threatening vandalism. Staff at the Indian visa application centres have faced heckling, and protests have occurred on several occasions.

In 2023, Bangladesh accounted for the highest number of foreign visitors to India, with at least 1.6 million visas issued to Bangladeshi nationals, including 450,000 medical visas.

Since Bangladesh lacks diplomatic missions for several countries, including some in Europe, many nationals seek to obtain visas from India.

An Indian government source said most applicants travel for business and that urgent requests are being considered.

With the Durga Puja festival approaching, there has been an increase in visa applications.

Concerns have been raised that restrictions on travel could negatively impact markets in Kolkata as many Bangladeshi nationals typically visit West Bengal during this time.