The State Bank of India (SBI) will manage the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) in Bangladesh for two more years. The agreement to extend the operations for two more years was signed between the officials of the SBI and the High Commission of India in Dhaka on Wednesday. SBI Bangladesh country head of operations Amit Kumar represented the SBI while the Deputy High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Dr. Binoy George represented the High Commission of India. Speaking on the occasion, High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami expressed satisfaction at the functioning of the IVAC centres in Bangladesh.
The IVAC will also be starting a few additional services soon which include facilitation for online form filling and submission of forms, slot booking and launching of a mobile app. A priority lounge was also inaugurated at the IVAC centre in Dhaka.
Currently, SBI runs a total of 15 IVACs across Bangladesh. The IVAC centre at the Jamuna Future Park in Dhaka was opened in 2018. It is the largest Indian visa application centre. The first IVAC was started by SBI in 2005 in Dhaka.
On average, the IVAC manages more than 5.5 thousand visa applications on a daily basis. In 2019, the Indian High Commission issued over 16 lakh visas in Bangladesh. After interruptions due to Covid 19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Visa operations of the High Commission of India have been running at full capacity catering to the various categories of visa applicants including those in emergency situations on a priority basis.
