Bangladesh digital nomad visa: requirements (2026)

Bangladesh's Finance Act 2024, gazetted 30 June 2024, extended the 100% income-tax exemption on IT freelancing, software development, AI solutions, data analytics, and 27 related digital-service categories through 30 June 2027 under the Sixth Schedule of the Income Tax Act 2023. Freelancers must file a tax return to claim the benefit but owe no tax on qualifying inward remittances, a key fiscal incentive for Bangladeshi remote workers earning foreign exchange.

After the Income Tax Act 2023's Section 124 created public alarm about a 10% tax at source on all inward service remittances, Bangladesh Bank issued a clarifying directive to authorised dealer banks exempting IT freelancer remittances and wage-earner remittances from the deduction. This preserved the effective tax-free status for Bangladesh's large IT-export workforce and removed a significant compliance barrier.

A comprehensive recodification replacing the Income Tax Ordinance 1984, the Income Tax Act 2023 introduced Section 124, which mandated a 10% tax deducted at source on remittances received for services performed within Bangladesh. The provision initially created legal uncertainty for the IT freelancing sector before Bangladesh Bank issued a remedial exemption circular.

BIDA's digital One Stop Service (OSS) platform became operational, enabling employers to submit E-Visa recommendations and formal work-permit applications for foreign nationals entirely online. This created the current procedural pathway for expatriate employment: employers first obtain an E-Visa recommendation via OSS, the foreign national enters on an employment visa, and a full work permit is then filed within 15 days of arrival.

Parliament enacted the One Stop Service Act 2018, giving statutory authority to BIDA to issue visa recommendations, work permits, tax holidays, and other investment-facilitation services through a single administrative window within legally binding time limits. The Act is the legislative foundation for the OSS portal and the current work-permit regime for foreign nationals.

The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority Act 2016 merged the Board of Investment and the Privatization Commission, creating BIDA as the single apex body for private-sector investment promotion. BIDA assumed exclusive responsibility for issuing work permits to foreign nationals employed in industries outside Export Processing Zones, Hi-Tech Parks, and Economic Zones, a role it retains today. The investor visa pathway (up to 5 years leading to permanent residency eligibility) is also administered under this framework.

These rules operationalised the 1939 Registration Act, requiring all foreigners staying beyond 90 days to register with the relevant Registration Officer within 7 days of arrival, report address changes within 24 hours, and notify the officer before travelling to another district. The 90-day threshold remains the operative de facto dividing line between short-term visitors (tourist/business visa) and those requiring formal immigration registration.

The Foreigners Act 1946 (Act No. XXI of 1946) vests broad powers in the government to regulate the entry, movement, presence, and departure of all foreign nationals in Bangladesh. Alongside the 1939 Registration Act, it forms the still-operative constitutional spine of Bangladesh's immigration system; no comprehensive replacement immigration statute has been enacted in the post-independence period.

Act No. XVI of 1939, inherited from British India and adopted by independent Bangladesh, created the legal requirement for all foreigners to register with designated Registration Officers upon arrival. It has never been substantively amended and continues to serve as the legal basis for the foreigner registration system currently administered by the Bangladesh Immigration Police.