Three routes into Bangladesh: no visa at all, a visa on arrival at one of three airports, or an application you finish before you fly. Check your passport below, then read the permits section — Saint Martin, the Hill Tracts and the Sundarbans each need paperwork beyond your visa.
Check your passport
Pick the passport you will travel on. We show the route that applies to that nationality for a tourist visit.
Guidance only, and rules change without notice. Confirm with the nearest Bangladesh mission or visa.gov.bd before you book flights.
The four categories
21 countries
No tourist visa at all for a short stay. You still show a return ticket and where you are staying.
72 countries
Visa on arrival, about USD 51 in cash, 30 days, issued at three airports only.
67 countries
Apply online at visa.gov.bd and finish at a Bangladesh mission before you fly.
12 countries
Advance application plus a security clearance from Dhaka. Start two months out.
Where you can enter
Airports that issue visa on arrival
- DACDhaka — Hazrat Shahjalal International
- CGPChattogram — Shah Amanat International
- ZYLSylhet — Osmani International
Land borders — advance visa only
- Benapole — Kolkata road route, busiest crossing
- Akhaura — For Agartala and Tripura
- Burimari — Northern route via Changrabandha
- Hili — Dinajpur side crossing
- Tamabil — Sylhet to Dawki and Shillong
Permits and passes
A visa gets you into the country. These three places need their own paperwork on top, and every one of them is arranged through a government office rather than online at the last minute.
Saint Martin's Island
- A travel pass through the official government portal is required for every visitor.
- November is day trips only. December and January allow overnight stays. February the island closes to tourists.
- A daily cap of 2,000 visitors applies, so passes go early in peak weeks.
- No lights on the beach after dark, no vehicles on the sand, banned single-use plastics stay off the boat.
Chittagong Hill Tracts
- Permission from the district administration is needed for Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachhari trips.
- A registered local guide is mandatory for treks, and some routes stay closed to foreigners.
- Paperwork takes days, so tell us your dates early and we file it for you.
The Sundarbans
- A Forest Department permit and an armed forest guard are mandatory for every boat.
- Permits are normally bundled into a 3-night trip departing from Khulna or Mongla.
- Independent day visits deep into the forest are not possible.
Getting around
- Launches and ferries leave Dhaka from Sadarghat for the southern delta.
- Intercity trains are comfortable — book Snigdha class for air conditioning and reserved seats.
- Air-conditioned coaches cover every highway route, and domestic flights link Dhaka with Cox's Bazar, Sylhet, Chattogram, Jashore and Saidpur.
- In town it is rickshaws, CNG three-wheelers and ride-hailing apps. Agree the fare before you sit down.
- Or skip the negotiating and take a car with a driver.
Money and costs
- The currency is the Bangladeshi Taka (৳).
- Cash is essential. Cards work in city hotels and chain restaurants, almost nowhere else.
- ATMs are common in cities, rare in the hills and the far south — draw cash before you leave a district town.
- Check any rate you are offered against Bangladesh Bank's published figure before changing money.
- Paying us is separate: see how to pay.
Travelling respectfully
- Ask before photographing anyone, and especially before photographing women and children.
- Dress modestly — shoulders and knees covered for everyone.
- Shoes come off at religious sites and in homes.
- During Ramadan, eat and drink out of sight during daylight hours.
- In the hill tracts, hire local guides and spend with local businesses.
Customs
Personal effects, camera gear and reasonable gifts come in without trouble. Gold, alcohol, large electronics and undeclared cash are restricted, and drones need permission arranged well in advance. The National Board of Revenue publishes the current baggage rules — check them if you are carrying anything unusual.
If something goes wrong
- 999Police, fire and ambulance
- 333Government information and tourist help
- 102Fire service hotline
Tourist Police units are stationed at Cox's Bazar, Sreemangal, Sundarbans and other major sites.
Visa questions we get asked
A visa on arrival gives you 30 days from the day you land. Bangladesh missions abroad usually issue 30, 60 or 90 day tourist visas, single or multiple entry. The validity printed on the sticker is what immigration counts, not the length of your trip.
Yes. Extensions are handled by the Department of Immigration and Passports at Agargaon, Dhaka. Apply before your current visa runs out. Overstaying costs 200 taka a day for the first 15 days and 500 taka a day after that, payable at the airport before you fly home.
A passport with at least six months validity and blank pages, a return or onward ticket, a confirmed hotel booking for your first nights, and funds. If you are travelling with us, we email you a confirmed itinerary and hotel voucher to show at the counter.
You can apply for the No Visa Required endorsement, a stamp in your foreign passport with lifetime validity. It is applied for through a Bangladesh mission and removes the need for a tourist visa on every visit.
A yellow fever certificate is required if you arrive from a country where yellow fever is endemic. Typhoid, hepatitis A and tetanus are commonly recommended. There is malaria risk in the hill districts. Tap water is not drinkable anywhere, so stay on bottled or filtered water.
Days, not hours. Hill Tracts permission and Sundarbans permits both go through government offices with working-hour queues. Send us your dates and passport scans as soon as your booking is confirmed and we handle the filing. See our holiday packages for trips where permits are already included.
Yes, through Benapole, Akhaura, Burimari, Hili or Tamabil, but only with a visa issued in advance. Visa on arrival is never granted at a land border. Your visa sticker also names the port of entry in some cases, so check it matches your plan.
Official sources
This page is a traveller's summary, not an official notice. Rules change without warning — confirm against the source before you book.
Travelling with us? We handle the paperwork
Every Mystic Bengal booking comes with the visa support letter, confirmed hotel vouchers for the airport counter, and the Saint Martin, Hill Tracts or Sundarbans permits your itinerary needs — filed by us, in Dhaka, ahead of your arrival.