Information on whether, prior to issuing a visa to a Bangladeshi citizen, the Belgian embassy in Bangladesh requires the Bangladeshi authorities to conduct a security clearance on the visa applicant [BGD17519.E]

According to an attaché at the Embassy of Belgium in Ottawa, Bangladeshi visa applicants in Bangladesh are not required to produce police security clearances for regular short-term visas such as tourist visas (25 May 1994). However, applicants for visas allowing visa holders to stay in Belgium for a long period of time, including permanent residence visas, are required to produce such security clearances (ibid.). It is the responsibility of visa applicants, not the Belgian embassy, to contact the Bangladeshi authorities to obtain the security clearance documents.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Reference

Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium, Ottawa. 25 May 1994. Telephone interview with attachè.