China opens visa centre in Dhaka

Chinese Embassy in Dhaka has opened a separate visa centre because of growing demand considering the business ties and communications between the two countries.

Chinese Ambassador to Dhaka Yao Wen inaugurated the visa centre at the Prasad Trade Centre in Banani on Thursday.

After the opening of the centre, visa seekers will no longer have to go to the embassy to receive a visa, the Chinese embassy said.

However, those who have diplomatic or official passports will still have to apply at the embassy.

Explaining the reasoning for opening the visa centre, Ambassador Wen said that exchanges between Bangladesh and China are increasing, close, and frequent at all levels and in all sectors.

“More and more Bangladeshi people are willing to travel to China, and their demand for Chinese visas has been growing,” he said.

An average of 1,500 Bangladeshis applied for a Chinese visa every day last year despite a shortage of manpower and extended visa processing times, Wen said.

With the Dhaka centre, China has opened 103 visa processing centres in 55 countries and regions, the ambassador said.

The embassy officially launched the Chinese online visa application system on Jun 15, 2023. Since then, all steps including filling of application forms, submission of application documents and visa interviews have been conducted online. In less than 10 months, nearly 44,000 visas of various types have been issued.