Indian Visa Application Centre, Dhaka ( JFP ) (IVAC)
Address: Floor – G1, South Court, Jamuna Future Park ,
Progoti Sharani, Baridhara, Dhaka-1229, Bangladesh
Hot Line: 09612 333 666, 09614 333 666
E-mail: info@ivacbd.com
Website: www.ivacbd.com
What is an Embassy?
An Embassy is the main representative office of a country in another foreign country. The primary purpose is to protect the citizens and other resident groups from that country by facilitating trade, travel, and political interests between the two nations. In this case, Indian Embassy in Bangladesh represents the Indian Government’s interest against Bangladeshi Government.
Who runs the Embassy?
The Embassy is run by an Ambassador of the Indian government who manages all day-to-day matters. He is supported by a team of officials and workers responsible for different functions: trade, visas, cultural exchange, political affairs, etc. There are some other offices attached to the embassy that help him in managing his function such as Chief Protocol Office (CPO), intelligence units, etc.
Why is it important?
India shares its border with Bangladesh and our good relations have been crucial in maintaining law and order at the frontier. Due to this reason, India kept Dhaka close throughout history despite several attempts made by Pakistan. This has also brought us closer on many fronts but not in terms of economic ties.
Who is an Ambassador?
In simple words, an Ambassador is a man sent by the government to live in another country and represent it. This person becomes our representative face there with all the powers as instructed by his home country.
What does an ambassador do?
An Ambassador serves as “a permanent, typically high-ranking diplomat who is accredited as the official representative of his or her own government (the sending state) to another government (the host state), normally on behalf of that country’s head of state”. In simple words – He is a representative of his home nation with special privileges who conveys messages from one head of state to another especially regarding matters between their respective countries.
What can you find at an embassy?
Embassies are typically located in a couple of posh areas in the capital city and have quite some land area. There is the main office building where most of the diplomatic work takes place, surrounded by small houses/flats for supporting staff, one or two big gates, and a large compound wall to keep it safe from unwanted visitors.
What’s inside the embassy?
An Embassy is like any other head office of a company with different departments doing their own job in coordination with each other. The Indian Embassy has its internal passport section (CIS), visa issuing section (VIS) which issues Diplomatic and Official passports apart from normal short-term visas, visa application center (VFS) through which most applications are processed on behalf of India, political section, trade section, etc.
Can I meet the Ambassador?
It depends, mostly you can’t just walk into the embassy and ask to meet an Ambassador or any other senior official. You have to submit a formal request for an appointment which will be responded through the mail with some days of delay. Even if you get an appointment, it’s not always possible to meet him/her in person due to various reasons like busy schedule or security concerns especially if you are not a citizen of that country where he is posted.
The first thing to know about India is that it’s a big country with many languages and cultures! The second thing to know is that there are many different types of Indian government services! There is more than one type of embassy (the place where they make decisions) as well as consulates (the places where they deal with everyday matters). An embassy can be compared to the head office, while a consulate is more like a local office or
The Indian embassy in Dhaka issues Indian visas to Bangladeshi nationals.
It is a part of govt. of India and hence follows official rules for issuing visas.
It also handles all kinds of diplomatic activities for the Indian government in Bangladesh.
This is not a lightweight division in the embassy, it is well staffed with various sections that process the visa and citizenship-related cases.
As per information welcomed from viewers, this section does NOT allow online submission of visa applications.
It makes you wait for at least 3 to 5 business days for processing your case if submitted manually by an agent (which takes up to 2 months).
Roles and responsibilities of the Indian Embassy in Dhaka:
1. It issues visas for every Bangladeshi citizen wishing to visit India.
2. It handles and reports on the consular-related matters of Indian citizens living in Bangladesh.
3. Handles all kinds of diplomatic activities for the government of India regarding Bangladesh. This is mostly related to visas but things can get confused sometimes since it also deals with other consular services which require a visa like: reporting/reporting births, deaths, marriages, change of citizenship, etc.
4. Issues various types of certificates required by Bangladeshi nationals ranging from birth/death/marriage certificates to apostille and authentication from MEA New Delhi (Ministry of External Affairs).
5 . If you are not in touch with your embassy, you can contact them if you or your family member gets into trouble in Bangladesh.
6 . Has a big role to play in developing bilateral relations between both countries.
7. Helps Bangladeshi nationals get back their lost Indian Citizenship and avoid deportation from India for being illegal immigrants (Illegal Bangladeshi immigrants).
8. Deals with any kind of consular-related matter for Indians living in Dhaka (mostly people working at NGOs) but this is very rare as compared to visa/citizenship-related cases handled by the mission.
9. And finally, it also looks after the commercial interests of India through the foreign office at Chancery Division which mostly deals with various trade organizations based in Dhaka.
In conclusion, it can be said that the Indian Embassy in Dhaka is NOT just a single entity. It is a big and complex division/mission, which has many sections and units to do a lot of things for India’s best interest. I hope you are now clear about how it actually works (or at least partially clear) with a better understanding of its various roles and divisions handling visa-related issues.