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Tourist Visa on Arrival — Bangladesh and Maldives

BhutanShort stays and visits

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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Explore pathways in Bhutan Read the five questions ↓

For the relevant traveller scope, is a visa, electronic authorisation, visa on arrival or no advance visa normally required?

Nationals of Bangladesh and of the Maldives holding a valid passport are eligible for a visa on arrival in Bhutan under a bilateral agreement, so no advance visa is obtained abroad. The Department of Immigration lists them separately from the rule that all other foreign nationals must obtain an e-visa prior to entry, alongside nationals of India who are eligible for an entry permit at the port of entry and holders of a valid SAARC Visa Exemption Sticker.

See recorded sources

What short-visit purposes does this route cover?

The checked official sources did not provide enough route-specific evidence to confirm the visit purposes this route covers.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Rule 71 of the Immigration Rules and Regulations 2023 and the Department's 'Entry into Bhutan' page set eligibility for visa on arrival by nationality and passport only, and state no permitted or excluded purpose of visit.
  • The Department's General Information routes permit enquiries 'For Tourist (Indian, Bangladeshi/Maldivian)' to the Service Division; that is a contact-routing line, not a statement that the visa on arrival is limited to tourism, so it is not used here as evidence of purpose.
  • Section 79 of the Immigration Act 2007 lists who the ordinary/tourist visa is issued to (tourists, diplomats on holiday/tourism, relatives and guests of foreigners working in Bhutan, private visitors, students, business persons, journalists and others), but the checked sources do not state that the Bangladesh/Maldives visa on arrival is that visa.
  • Nothing was found, which is not the same as the sources saying the route has no purpose restriction.

What maximum stay, rolling-period rule, validity and entry rules apply?

Nationals of Bangladesh and the Maldives holding a valid passport are eligible for a visa on arrival as per bilateral agreement. The Immigration Rules and Regulations 2023 provide that a foreigner cleared as a tourist is permitted to stay for the actual duration of stay or ninety days, whichever is less, and the Immigration Act 2007 provides that the visa for a tourist is given for a maximum period of ninety days. The same Rules provide that an immigration officer at the port of entry endorses a visa for the actual duration of stay or thirty days, whichever is less, and the Act provides that a visa is issued for a maximum period of thirty days at the entry points for an ordinary visa. An immigration officer issues a visa on arrival with the approved duration of stay. The official sources do not state which of these limits applies to the visa on arrival for nationals of Bangladesh and the Maldives, or any rolling-period rule.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The official source does not state the complete answer to this question for this route.

What important funds, accommodation, invitation, insurance, onward-travel or passport evidence may be required?

Passports must have a minimum validity of six months from the intended date of departure from Bhutan. A foreigner eligible for a visa on arrival may be required to submit a filled-in visa on arrival form, and must produce a valid passport or an accepted identity document, and prior clearance as applicable, at the immigration counter. Under the Immigration Act 2007, a person seeking entry as a visitor must, among other requirements, be genuinely seeking entry as a visitor for a limited period, intend to leave at the end of the visit, and meet the cost of the return or onward journey. Admission into the country is determined by immigration officers at the port of entry. The official sources do not state specific funds, accommodation, invitation or insurance evidence for the visa on arrival.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The official source does not state the complete answer to this question for this route.

Where/how is permission obtained when required, and under what important circumstances can a stay be extended or changed?

The visa is issued at the port of entry rather than applied for beforehand, and admission is determined by immigration officials there. The Department of Immigration states that the foreigner or the agency concerned must process the extension of the visa or permit before it expires, and Annexure III of the Immigration Rules sets visa extension fees of Nu. 2,000 for a duration up to three months, Nu. 3,000 up to six months and Nu. 5,000 up to one year.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The extension fee table in Annexure III is general and the sources do not state that it applies to a visa issued on arrival.
  • The sources do not say where or how an extension is requested by someone who entered on a visa on arrival, nor which office decides it.
  • Rule 58 requires a proper exit from Bhutan of at least fifteen days before the purpose of visit can be changed, but it is written generally and is not stated for this route.
  • No fee is stated for the visa on arrival itself: Rule 119 sets the tourist visa fee at 40 US dollars and Rule 120 sets Nu. 5,000 for other categories, and the sources do not say which, if either, applies on arrival.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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