Catholic leaders call for ‘easier’ visas for missionaries

The Christian delegation is headed by Archbishop Bejoy N. D’Cruze. The authorities require bank account details, but priests and nuns, unlike Protestants, do not have bank accounts in their names. The Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Religious Affairs have promised to cooperate fully in resolving the problem.

Dhaka () – Catholic leaders are asking the Bangladeshi government to facilitate the processing of visas for missionaries. On April 11, a delegation led by the Archbishop of the capital and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB), Monsignor Bejoy N. D’Cruze, met with the Minister of the Interior, Asaduzzaman Khan, and with the Minister of Religious Affairs, Faridul Haq Khan.

Accompanied by various prelates and religious leaders, Mons. D’Cruze delivered a letter to the Minister of Religious Affairs asking him to make it easier for foreign and local Catholic missionaries to obtain category “M” visas. Missionaries, parents, brothers and sisters coming to Bangladesh or traveling abroad are asked by the authorities for personal bank accounts and a Tax Identification Number (TIN). But religious Catholics don’t have personal bank accounts nor are they supposed to.

During the meeting, Bishop D’Cruze explained that “the accounts are in the name of the community or its association and all its expenses are paid from that one account. That is why we ask for the help of the Minister of Religious Affairs in this matter.” Protestant missionaries, who have a personal bank account and TIN, have no problem obtaining a visa.

At the meeting, both ministers pledged the government’s full cooperation to resolve the issue, expressing their determination to work together to protect the country’s harmony. Asaduzzaman Khan also recalled the important role of religious leaders between 2013 and 2016 in the fight against Islamic extremism, mentioning the former Archbishop of Dhaka, Card. Patrick D’Rozario, and the president of the Christian Association of Bangladesh, Nirmol Rozario, who were part of the delegation of religious leaders together with Father Swapan Das. The meeting was attended by the Secretary of the Minister of Religious Affairs, Sadiqur Rahman Khan, and the Secretary of the Public Security Department of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mostafizur Rahman.