The Bangladeshi caretaker government has revised the existing visa policy adopted in 2006 with a view to making it time-befitting, encouraging foreign investment, developing diplomatic and economic relations among the countries, and expanding trade and commerce, local daily The Independent reported Thursday.

The visa policy was revised at a meeting held at the Home Ministry on Wednesday, the daily said, adding that the new visa policy, aimed at playing a significant role in developing the country's education, culture, industrial and tourism sectors as well as generating employment, came into effect from Wednesday.

Home Ministry Secretary Md Abdul Karim said that there would be 33 categories of visas in the new visa policy for making the visa policy time-befitting, simpler and specific.

The new categories include registration facilities for those coming to Bangladesh with a 90-day visa or more at the international airports; no visa required for travel to Bangladesh for those foreigners who had invested 5 million U.S. dollars in heavy industries or in any business; issuance of visa for six months instead of one month for those foreigners traveling to the country for business purposes; waiving of fines for those foreigners of Bangladesh origin and Bangladeshis having foreigner wives/husbands and their offspring.

Source: Xinhua