Bangladesh visa issuance in Assam drops over 60% amid political unrest

Guwahati, July 11: The issuance of Bangladesh visas in Assam has declined by more than 60 per cent, reflecting a significant reduction in cross-border movement and bilateral exchanges between the two countries.

According to sources, the three visa centres in Assam – located in Guwahati, Bongaigaon, and Silchar – which earlier processed 50-55 visas daily, are now issuing only around 15-18 per day.

Sources informed that the decline has affected multiple sectors, including education and healthcare.

“There has been a notable drop in student visas, particularly among medical aspirants from Assam who traditionally pursue affordable medical education in Bangladesh. Families are now reconsidering cross-border academic plans amid growing uncertainty. In the last one year or so, only a few students had opted for fresh education visas from Assam,” a source said.

“There are still many students from Assam who are pursuing medical education in Bangladesh but the rate of fresh admissions from Assam has gone down substantially,” he said.

“Medical tourism has also seen a downturn. Earlier, many patients from Bangladesh used to come to the State for treatment. Now, those numbers have dwindled significantly,” the source said.

He added that most of the few visas currently being issued are tourist visas and a negligible number of student visas or for that matter business visas have been issued.

The decline in visa issuance is believed to be a result of political instability in Bangladesh, where a student-led movement led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government last year. It also coincides with India’s imposition of new trade restrictions on Bangladeshi exports to the North East and other regions.

The restricted items include garments, plastic goods, furniture, carbonated drinks, baked items, and cotton yarn. These measures are viewed as a reciprocal move to Bangladesh’s continued non-tariff barriers on Indian exports and statements by Bangladesh leaders referring to India’s North East as “landlocked”.

However, some essential goods, such as fish, LPG, edible oil, crushed stones, and garments, routed through Kolkata and Nhava Sheva ports have been exempted from the restrictions.

In the financial year 2023-24, bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh stood at $14.01 billion. India exported goods worth $12.05 billion to Bangladesh and imported different items worth $1.97 billion. India is Bangladesh’s second-largest trading partner in Asia, while Bangladesh is India’s largest trading partner in South Asia. Assam shares a 262-km border with Bangladesh.

Another source told this correspondent that the rate of issuance of visas to Bangladesh has somewhat picked up in the last three to four days owing to an upcoming religious event in the neighbouring country.

By

Sanjoy Ray