Dhaka: Executive Chairman (State Minister) of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, announced that the government is making efforts to modernize its visa system by digitizing fee payments and refining the overall visa policy. The BIDA chief spoke as the chair at a workshop on “Work Permit and Security Clearance Process” at the BIDA multipurpose hall in the city.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Ashik Chowdhury stated that substantial work is underway to enable online payment of visa fees, allowing applicants to complete transactions from home rather than visiting in person. He highlighted that the government is working on refining the overall visa policy to address persistent issues within the current system.
Ashik Chowdhury mentioned the commencement of the online security clearance process on October 1, noting that required documents have been drastically reduced from 34 to 11. He emphasized that BIDA, along with other government bodies, prioritizes national security in all operations.
He stressed the importance of a unified approach among different investment promotion agencies like BIDA, BEZA, and Hi-Tech Park to provide a consistent experience for investors. Chowdhury argued that the work permit application process should be uniform across these bodies.
The workshop featured presentations from National Security Intelligence (NSI), Special Branch (SB), Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), and BIDA. Additional speakers included Md Delwar Hossain, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, and BIDA Director General Md Ariful Hoque. Hoque reiterated the need for a collaborative effort among security and administrative agencies to address challenges and share experiences to improve decision-making processes.