Bangladesh Missions Abroad Go Dark Faces Visa Service Disruptions As DIP Server Develops Technical Glitch

Dhaka: Bangladesh missions abroad are facing temporary disruptions in visa-related services after a technical problem affected the central system of the Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP), leaving its Machine Readable Visa (MRV) server unavailable.

The disruption has affected Bangladesh missions overseas, with the processing of No Visa Required (NVR) applications, regular visa applications and visa issuance facing delays.

According to a report by The Daily Star, the technical issue has temporarily affected visa services at Bangladesh missions abroad. The government has said efforts are underway to restore the system at the earliest.

DIP Working To Restore Central System

A senior official told United News of Bangladesh (UNB) on Monday night, September 28, that the government was working to resolve the technical problem as soon as possible.

The official said the MRV server linked to DIP's central system was currently unavailable and that the same problem was affecting all Bangladesh missions abroad.

According to UNB, DIP had informed the missions about the technical issue last week and was working to restore the central system.

The government has asked applicants to allow additional time for their applications to be processed and avoid making repeated enquiries about their application status while the technical problem persists.

Applicants Report Difficulties

The disruption has also affected applicants who had already submitted their visa applications.

One applicant from a European country told UNB that they had submitted an online visa application and were informed that an email would arrive within 24 hours. However, the applicant said no email had been received and repeated calls seeking an update went unanswered.

The issue has therefore affected both the processing of fresh applications and subsequent communication with applicants.

Bangkok, Berlin Missions Issue Notices

Individual Bangladesh missions have also issued notices informing applicants about the technical problem.

The Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok, in a public notice, said visa seekers could face difficulties while submitting applications or accessing visa-related services because of the temporary issue with the visa server.

The embassy said its concerned technical team was working to resolve the problem and requested applicants to bear with the temporary inconvenience. It also advised applicants, where possible, to avoid making urgent travel arrangements that depend on immediate visa processing.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Embassy in Berlin issued an urgent notice apologising for the inconvenience and asking applicants for patience and understanding.

According to UNB, applicants will be informed through the websites and Facebook pages of the respective missions once the central system is restored and normal visa services resume.

Visa Services To Resume After System Restoration

The authorities have not indicated a specific timeline for the restoration of the central system.

For now, applicants have been advised to allow additional time for NVR and visa processing and avoid repeatedly contacting missions for status updates while the technical issue remains unresolved.

The Department of Immigration and Passports is working to restore the system, after which the affected Bangladesh missions are expected to resume normal visa-related services.