India snubs Bangladesh on medical visas, opening way for China

NEW DELHI/DHAKA: India is resisting pleas by Bangladesh to resume issuing normal volumes of medical visas, citing staffing shortages amid worsening ties, six sources said, giving China rare space to expand similar offerings and build people-to-people ties.

The bulk of India’s visas for Bangladeshis in 2023 went to those seeking its affordable private healthcare and Bengali-speaking hospital staff, helping to cement ties between the neighbours and limit China’s regional influence.

“When there is a vacuum, others will come and fill the space,” one of four Bangladesh sources, most of them diplomats, told Reuters. “Some people are going to Thailand and China.”

Since August, India has handed out fewer than 1,000 medical visas each working day, down from a figure of 5,000 to 7,000, said the sources, who all sought anonymity, citing their terms of employment.

The numbers have fallen as relations have cooled after Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, replaced India’s long-term ally Sheikh Hasina.

Fleeing deadly protests that unseated her in August, Hasina sought refuge in New Delhi, and India has not responded since to Bangladesh’s request to send her home for trial. In 2023, India issued more than 2 million visas to Bangladeshis, most of them on medical grounds, government data from both countries shows. But its withdrawal since has opened an enticing gap for China.