The British High Commission in Dhaka has formally informed the foreign ministry that it would not accept any informal communication or letter of introduction (LoI) as far as visa applications for private citizens are concerned.
A British High Commission spokesperson confirmed that it had already informed the ministry saying it would only accept formal communications or note verbal from the ministry when it endorses a visa application.
“The British High Commission continues to accept endorsement of visa applications from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Any implication that we don’t would be incorrect and misleading,” Warren Daley said.
“What we have said is that we require such endorsements to be sent by note verbale, in other words as a formal communication between governments, rather than through sending informal [letters of introduction].”
No foreign ministry in any country except Bangladesh issues letters of introduction for private citizens as it is the right of the respective country to issue visa or not and that the LoI has little value during visa processing, said a foreign ministry official. Letter of Introduction is an informal communication issued by consular wing of the ministry, which is attached with a visa application in a hope that as the foreign ministry has issued a letter for the person, his or her visa application would have a higher probability of being accepted.
