Before you start

International health insurance with medical evacuation, arranged before arrival
A registered hospital in Dhaka and a tested journey time to it
Vaccination records, including typhoid and hepatitis A discussion with a doctor
HEPA air purifiers, bought before December

Step-by-step

1
Arrange insurance with evacuation cover before you arrive
Expatriate policies underwrite at purchase. Check the evacuation limit, whether it covers a companion, and whether prior authorisation is required. Ask specifically how the policy handles an emergency originating outside the capital, because the answer determines what happens in the hour that matters.
OnlineWho: YouBefore arrival
2
Register at a Dhaka private hospital and time the journey twice
Gazipur has district-level and private facilities that handle routine care, but for anything serious the realistic destination is one of the Dhaka private hospitals. Register in advance, and drive the route once at night and once in the evening peak so you know the real range rather than the map estimate. That number is what you will act on under pressure.
In personWho: YouMonth 1
3
Buy air purifiers before the season starts
Gazipur sits inside the greater Dhaka airshed, where the capital measured an air quality index of 177 on the morning of 6 November 2025, and adds industrial and brick-kiln emissions of its own. Bangladesh was the second most polluted country in the world in 2025 at a national annual PM2.5 average of 66.1 µg/m³. Size purifiers for the bedrooms and the room you work in, and buy spare filters before the coverage starts.
OnlineWho: YouBy November
4
Take factory-floor exposure seriously if that is where you work
If your role puts you inside dyeing, washing or finishing plants, the exposures are chemical and thermal rather than ambient. Ask what personal protective equipment the plant issues, what its heat-stress protocol is, and whether it has an occupational health arrangement. The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments is the regulator, and a plant that cannot answer these questions is telling you something.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
5
Take water, food and mosquito precautions from day one
Filtered or bottled drinking water is universal practice including in Bangladeshi households. Discuss typhoid and hepatitis A vaccination with a doctor before arrival. Dengue is a household concern rather than a traveller's — the Aedes mosquito bites in daylight, so daytime repellent and removing standing water is ordinary housekeeping.
In personWho: You
6
Know that 999 covers ambulance as well as police and fire
The National Emergency Service on 999 is a single toll-free number operated by Bangladesh Police covering accident, crime, fire and ambulance, nationwide. Fire Service & Civil Defence also runs a hotline on 16163 — worth having in an industrial district where fire is the characteristic emergency.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Insurance policy and card with evacuation cover confirmed
Passport and visa
Vaccination records
Generic-name prescription list for ongoing medication
Employer group scheme and site emergency protocol details

Things most newcomers don’t know

The relevant medical number in Gazipur is a journey time, not a hospital name.

For anything serious the destination is a Dhaka private hospital, and the corridor between here and there is one of the least predictable in the country — a highway carrying commuters, factory traffic and national freight, with the rapid transit project that was meant to relieve it shelved in 2025. Registering with a good hospital is easy; knowing that the trip is thirty-five minutes at 2 a.m. and two hours at 6 p.m. is what actually changes a decision. Drive it twice before you need it.

Source: community-reported

Living outside Dhaka does not get you out of Dhaka's air.

Gazipur is inside the greater Dhaka airshed and contributes its own industrial and brick-kiln emissions on top. Dhaka measured an air quality index of 177 on the morning of 6 November 2025, and Bangladesh was the world's second most polluted country in 2025 with a national annual PM2.5 average of 66.1 µg/m³. People who take a job in the industrial belt sometimes assume they have escaped the capital's pollution because they have escaped its skyline. They have not, and purifiers belong on the moving-in list.

Source: Prothom Alo, 6 November 2025 air quality readings; IQAir 2025 World Air Quality Report

In a factory district, fire is the characteristic emergency and it is worth knowing your site's protocol.

Gazipur's industry is textiles, dyeing, washing and garment assembly, and building and fire safety is inspected and audited continuously here for good historical reason. If you work on or visit factory floors, know where the site's assembly point is, whether exits are kept clear, and what the plant's evacuation protocol is — and note that Fire Service & Civil Defence maintains a direct hotline on 16163 in addition to 999. This is ordinary professional practice in this district rather than nervousness.

Source: Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments; Bangladesh Fire Service & Civil Defence

999 is one national number for police, fire and ambulance.

Bangladesh's National Emergency Service, operated by Bangladesh Police, is toll-free and covers accident, crime, fire and ambulance on a single number everywhere in the country. Compared with the split systems in neighbouring countries this is a real administrative advantage and means one number to teach a household or a shift.

Source: Bangladesh Fire Service & Civil Defence; Directorate General of Health Services

Common mistakes to avoid

Registering with a Dhaka hospital without ever timing the journey at a bad hour.
Assuming a job outside Dhaka means escaping Dhaka's dry-season air.
Waiting until January to buy air purifiers and finding stock and filters gone.
Working on factory floors without asking about protective equipment and heat protocols.
Treating dengue as a traveller's risk rather than a household one.

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