Before you start

A sponsoring entity in Bangladesh — a company, a registered branch or liaison office, an NGO registered with the Bureau, or a Mongla EPZ 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
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. The NGO Affairs Bureau for NGOs and INGOs — the dominant answer for the delta and climate programmes that bring most foreign professionals to this division. BEPZA for enterprises inside Mongla EPZ. 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.
Via employerWho: You and your employerBefore anything is lodged
2
If the job is at Mongla, do not describe it as Khulna
There is no Khulna EPZ. BEPZA's southwestern zone is Mongla EPZ, established in 1998 beside the port in Bagerhat district about fifty kilometres from Khulna city. That distinction matters for the permit paperwork, for which office you deal with, and for whether you should be living in Khulna at all. Confirm the actual site address before you plan a commute or a lease.
Via employerWho: You and your employerBefore signing anything
3
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 at a Bangladeshi mission. For NGO appointments the Bureau's approval of the appointment comes first. Arriving on a tourist or business visa intending to convert does not work.
Via employerWho: Your employer6–10 weeks before travel
4
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 equivalent instead.
OnlineWho: Your employerIn parallel with the visa
5
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
6
Use the Divisional Passport and Visa Office in Khulna for extension
DIP runs seven divisional offices and describes them as issuing passports to Bangladeshi nationals in their jurisdiction and visas to foreign nationals. Khulna has one. Confirm which categories it processes before assuming a trip to Agargaon in Dhaka is required — from here that is a full day each way even with the Padma bridge.
In personWho: YouBefore expiry
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 Khulna 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
Forest Department permit for any Sundarbans travel, arranged through your boat operator
Tax clearance certificate, on permanent departure

Things most newcomers don’t know

There is no Khulna EPZ, and assuming there is one will send your paperwork to a body that has nothing to do with your job.

BEPZA operates zones at Chattogram, Dhaka, Mongla, Ishwardi, Cumilla, Uttara, Adamjee and Karnaphuli, plus the BEPZA Economic Zone. The southwest's zone is Mongla — beside the port, in Bagerhat district, about fifty kilometres from Khulna city. Guides and recruiters routinely write 'Khulna EPZ' as shorthand, and the consequences are practical rather than pedantic: the permit route, the administering office and the sensible place to live all differ depending on which it really is.

Source: BEPZA

In this division the NGO Affairs Bureau route is the norm, not the exception — and it is the slower one.

Southwest Bangladesh is one of the most concentrated climate-adaptation programme geographies in the world: salinity intrusion, embankment failure, cyclone recovery and coastal water supply all run large multi-year programmes here. That means a much higher share of foreign professionals in Khulna are NGO or INGO appointments under the NGO Affairs Bureau, on an N visa tied to an approved project, than in a commercial city like Chattogram. The Bureau's timeline is slower and less predictable than BIDA's, so budget accordingly rather than reading a corporate-oriented guide and expecting sixteen working days.

Source: NGO Affairs Bureau; BIDA

Having a divisional visa office here saves a genuinely long trip.

DIP's seven divisional offices — Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Rangpur and Barishal — issue visas to foreign nationals as well as passports to citizens. Khulna is one of them. Even with the Padma bridge, Khulna to Dhaka and back is a two-day errand, so being able to renew locally is worth confirming with the office rather than assuming. This is the kind of thing nobody mentions at offer stage.

Source: Department of Immigration & Passports

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

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 on external income. Immigration is entirely national, so no city offers a softer answer.

Source: Department of Immigration & Passports

Common mistakes to avoid

Treating a Mongla EPZ job as a Khulna job for permit, office and housing purposes.
Applying BIDA's published timelines to what is actually an NGO Affairs Bureau file.
Arriving on a tourist or business visa intending to convert to employment.
Missing the security clearance application deadline printed on the work permit.
Travelling to Dhaka for a renewal the Khulna divisional office could have handled.
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.