Integrated Indian visa centre to open today

A new integrated Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) will be inaugurated today at Jamuna Future Park (JFP), jointly by the home ministers of India and Bangladesh.

The new centre will replace all existing IVACs (Motijheel, Uttara, Gulshan and Mirpur Road) in Dhaka, a statement issued by the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said yesterday. Simultaneously, the existing e-token (appointment) system for submission of Indian visa applications will also be withdrawn, it added.

The new IVAC at JFP will replace the existing IVACs in Motijheel and Uttara from July 15, and the remaining two IVACs in Dhaka will also be shifted there by August 31, making it the only visa centre for all categories of visa applications in Dhaka.

The new state-of-the-art IVAC, located on an 18,500 square feet commercial area, will be a model visa centre and have facilities like computer-generated token vending machines (with expected waiting time), comfortable seating, vending machines, and 48 counters for submission of applications.

Separate counters will be reserved for senior citizens, women, freedom fighters and business applicants, the statement said.

“The consolidation of visa application services at the JFP and the provision of amenities reflect the continuing efforts of the High Commission of India …to further streamline the Indian visa application process and strengthen people-to-people contacts between India and Bangladesh,” said the statement.