Before you start

A sponsoring entity in Bangladesh — a company, a registered branch or liaison office, an NGO registered with the Bureau, or a BEPZA zone enterprise
For private sector: a BIDA E-visa recommendation obtained by the sponsor before the visa application
For NGO sector: NGO Affairs Bureau approval of the appointment, tied to an approved project
For EPZ employment: the zone enterprise's own BEPZA sponsorship, which is a separate permit system
A passport valid well beyond the intended stay

Step-by-step

1
Establish whether you are a BIDA, NGO Affairs Bureau or BEPZA file
BIDA for private business outside the zones. The NGO Affairs Bureau for NGOs and INGOs. BEPZA for enterprises inside the Chattogram EPZ, the Karnaphuli EPZ or the BEPZA Economic Zone. Ask your employer's HR to state it in writing before anything is lodged. A file in the wrong system is restarted rather than redirected, and Chattogram's industrial base means the BEPZA answer is much more common here than in the capital.
Via employerWho: You and your employerBefore anything is lodged
2
Have the sponsor obtain the visa recommendation first
For the private sector, the local sponsor applies online to BIDA for an E-visa recommendation in your favour, and only then do you apply for the visa at a Bangladeshi mission. Arriving on a tourist or business visa intending to convert is the standard failure mode and it does not work.
Via employerWho: Your employer6–10 weeks before travel
3
Lodge the work permit through BIDA's One Stop Service portal
The work permit application runs through bidaquickserv.org. BIDA publishes service times in working days — around sixteen for a new commercial-office permit — and the permit is ordinarily granted for an initial year. Zone employers use BEPZA's own equivalent instead.
OnlineWho: Your employerIn parallel with the visa
4
Apply for the security clearance within the permit's stated period
Mandatory for all foreign investors and employees, applied for through the same OSS portal since 1 October 2025. If no objection is raised within 21 working days the clearance is deemed granted — but BIDA also states that failing to apply within the timeframe specified on the work permit invalidates the permit. The protective half is automatic; the deadline half is not.
OnlineWho: Your employerWithin the period stated on the work permit
5
Use the Divisional Passport and Visa Office at Mansurabad for extension
DIP operates seven divisional offices and describes them as issuing passports to Bangladeshi nationals in their jurisdiction and visas to foreign nationals. Chattogram's is at Mansurabad. Confirm with the office which categories it processes before assuming you must travel to Agargaon in Dhaka — for many residents here it is the difference between a morning and a two-day trip.
In personWho: YouBefore expiry
6
Give ten days' notice before any Chittagong Hill Tracts travel
Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban require advance notice to the Bangladeshi authorities for foreign nationals — the UK FCDO and Global Affairs Canada both state ten days, via the Chittagong Divisional Commissioner's Office. Canada advises against all travel there. Chittagong City and the rest of the division are explicitly outside the FCDO warning, so this is a trip-planning rule, not a residence one.
In personWho: You10 days before any Hill Tracts trip
7
Start the tax clearance certificate six to eight weeks before you leave for good
A person not domiciled in Bangladesh may not leave without a tax clearance certificate from the income tax authority. For a permanent departure that means filing a return covering 1 July to your departure date, at your local Chattogram tax circle. It requires your presence and cannot be done from abroad.
In personWho: You6–8 weeks before permanent departure

Documents you’ll need

Passport with the Bangladeshi visa
BIDA E-visa recommendation letter, NGO Affairs Bureau appointment certificate, or BEPZA zone sponsorship
Work permit and its stated security clearance deadline
Employer's registration documents and project or zone approval
Written permission or acknowledgement for any Chittagong Hill Tracts travel
Tax clearance certificate, on permanent departure

Things most newcomers don’t know

In Chattogram, 'which regulator?' has three real answers, not two — BEPZA is not a footnote here.

Guidance written from Dhaka treats the BIDA/NGO Affairs Bureau split as the whole question, because that is what it looks like in the capital. Chattogram district contains the Chattogram EPZ, the Karnaphuli EPZ and the BEPZA Economic Zone at Mirsharai, so a large share of foreign technical, quality and management staff in this city are sponsored by a zone enterprise and sit under BEPZA's permit system rather than BIDA's. The documents, the approving body and the timetable all differ. Ask the question in three-way form, not two-way form.

Source: BEPZA; BIDA

The Hill Tracts restriction is real, specific, and does not extend to the city — and both halves matter.

Foreign nationals travelling to Rangamati, Khagrachhari or Bandarban must notify the Bangladeshi authorities in advance; the UK FCDO and Global Affairs Canada both put it at ten days through the Chittagong Divisional Commissioner's Office, and Canada advises against all travel there. Generic guides stop at 'Chittagong is restricted', which is wrong and frightens people out of a perfectly ordinary posting: the FCDO says in terms that Chittagong City and the other districts of the division are not in the warning. Plan Hill Tracts trips ten days out and stop worrying about the commute.

Source: UK FCDO; Global Affairs Canada

Having a Divisional Passport and Visa Office in your city is a real, unevenly distributed advantage.

DIP runs seven divisional offices — Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Rangpur and Barishal — and describes them as issuing visas to foreign nationals as well as passports to citizens. If you are posted somewhere served by one, in-country renewal is a local errand. If you are not, it is travel. This is the sort of thing nobody tells you at offer stage and it is worth asking about, because over a three-year posting it is the difference between several mornings and several trips.

Source: Department of Immigration & Passports

Bangladesh has no digital nomad visa, no freelance permit and no retirement route — and no local variation on that.

The categories are E for employment, PI for private investors, N for NGO appointments, S for students, and family dependants. There is nothing for a remote worker with no Bangladeshi sponsor, nothing for a self-employed consultant without a company here, and nothing for a retiree living on external income. Because immigration is entirely national, no city offers a different answer — anything suggesting Chattogram is easier on this axis is describing aspiration.

Source: Department of Immigration & Passports

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming the BIDA/NGO split is the whole question when your employer is a zone enterprise under BEPZA.
Arriving on a tourist or business visa intending to convert to employment.
Missing the security clearance application deadline printed on the work permit.
Reading 'Chittagong is restricted' as covering the city — it covers the three Hill Tracts districts.
Planning a Bandarban weekend without the ten days' notice.
Planning a permanent departure without allowing weeks for the tax clearance certificate.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.