Before you start

An International Driving Permit obtained in your home country before departure
Your valid national licence, which the IDP only translates
A realistic view of the Dhaka–Mymensingh corridor at your specific hour
A local address, for a BRTA licence if you settle long term

Step-by-step

1
Get the International Driving Permit before you leave home
This is the step people miss and it is national. The BRTA does not issue IDPs and you cannot apply for one from inside Bangladesh — the Automobile Association of Bangladesh issues them, and its process is designed around BRTA licence holders travelling abroad. Arriving without an IDP means arriving unable to drive legally.
In personWho: YouBefore departure
2
Do not plan around the BRT
BRT Line 3 was to run 20.5 km from Shibbari to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport with 25 stations. Construction began in December 2016; the specialised buses were never procured, so on 16 December 2024 ten ordinary BRTC air-conditioned buses started running on the incomplete corridor, and in 2025 the project was shelved after more than Tk 2,800 crore. Older guidance describing imminent rapid transit is describing an abandoned plan.
In personWho: YouBefore signing a lease
3
Test the corridor at your actual commuting hour before you choose an address
The Dhaka–Mymensingh highway through Gazipur carries commuters, factory traffic and national freight through what was a construction site for nine years. Travel times between Chowrasta, Board Bazar, Tongi and Dhaka vary enormously by hour and direction. The honest test is your route at your time, not a map estimate.
Mobile appWho: YouBefore signing a lease
4
Know that the Dhaka metro stops short of the city
MRT Line 6's northern terminus is Uttara North, inside Dhaka. It does not reach Gazipur. For some commutes it is worth driving or taking a bus to the terminus and continuing by metro — but that is a two-mode journey, not a transit connection, and it should be tested rather than assumed.
Mobile appWho: You
5
Plan around the Bishwa Ijtema
The Ijtema at Tongi draws millions of people to the Turag bank, usually in January or February and often in two phases. For those days the corridor and the Tongi area are effectively reorganised. Check the dates before scheduling travel, deliveries or an audit, and expect the effects to extend well beyond Tongi itself.
In personWho: YouJanuary–February
6
Consider a driver rather than driving
A full-time driver on a monthly salary is an ordinary professional arrangement in Bangladesh rather than a luxury, and many factory employers include one. On a corridor like this it converts commuting time into working time, which is worth more here than in most Bangladeshi cities.
Via employerWho: You

Documents you’ll need

National driving licence
International Driving Permit, obtained before arrival
Passport with valid visa
Proof of Gazipur address, for a BRTA licence

Things most newcomers don’t know

You cannot obtain an International Driving Permit once you are in Bangladesh.

The BRTA does not issue IDPs; the Automobile Association of Bangladesh does, and its process asks for a valid BRTA licence and a national identity card, which an incoming foreign national does not have. The permit must be obtained in your home country before you travel. It is a national rule with no local workaround.

Source: Automobile Association of Bangladesh; BRTA

Gazipur's rapid transit was built and then abandoned, and a lot of published advice has not caught up.

BRT Line 3 ran 20.5 km from Shibbari to the airport with 25 planned stations, construction from December 2016, more than Tk 2,800 crore spent against an original Tk 2,040 crore budget. The purpose-built buses were never bought, so ten ordinary BRTC air-conditioned buses went onto the unfinished corridor on 16 December 2024, and in 2025 the project was shelved. Anyone choosing an address on the assumption that a fast, reliable corridor to the airport is imminent is planning around something that was given up on.

Source: Dhaka BRT project reporting; Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority

The metro that transformed Dhaka commuting stops before Gazipur begins.

MRT Line 6 runs from Uttara North to Motijheel and has genuinely changed which Dhaka addresses make sense. Its northern terminus is inside Dhaka, not in Gazipur, so for a Gazipur resident it is a mode you drive to rather than a service you live on. People read about Bangladesh's metro and assume the industrial belt north of the city is on it. It is not, and the difference between a one-mode and a two-mode commute is the whole question.

Source: community-reported

The Bishwa Ijtema is a transport event as much as a religious one, and it recurs every year.

Millions of people from around 150 countries gather on the Turag bank at Tongi, usually in January or February and in recent years across two phases. For a resident of this district that means a predictable annual period when the corridor, the local roads and the rail junction are reorganised around the gathering. Locals plan around it; newcomers schedule a shipment or an audit into it once and then never again.

Source: community-reported