Bangladeshis won't need prior appointment for Indian tourist visa application

Bangladeshi nationals applying for Indian tourist visa can walk in and submit their applications to the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) in Mirpur Road, Dhaka without a prior appointment from October 10 onwards. This measure is aimed at easing access to Indian visa and strengthening people-to-people contacts between Bangladesh and India, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said on Thursday. Applications will be accepted from 8:30am to 12:30pm. Tourist visa applicants will not be required to submit confirmed tickets to India.The other existing walk-in schemes for submission of applications for non-tourist visas – i.e. medical visa, business visa, conference visa, etc – will continue as before. Furthermore, separate counters for walk-in tourist visas for senior citizens and freedom fighters will also continue. The new system builds upon the pilot initiative launched at IVACs in Chittagong on July 9 and Rajshahi and Rangpur on September 10, and is being extended to the IVAC in Mirpur Road on a trial basis.