Kolkata: The overwhelming response to the resumption of India’s tourist visas for Bangladeshis after two years has been accompanied by a surge in medical visa approvals, giving a fresh boost to Kolkata’s medical tourism.Over the past three weeks, most private hospitals in Kolkata have witnessed the biggest spurt in the arrival of Bangladeshi patients since unrest across the border following anti-Hasina protests in mid-2024 prompted the Indian authorities to enforce travel curbs. Patients from Bangladesh accounted for around 15% of the revenue of many private hospitals in Kolkata before the restrictions came into force.Standard tourist visa services for Bangladeshis were reopened at Indian Visa Application Centres in Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Khulna on June 28. Officials said over 1.4 lakh tourist visa applications were received within 24 hours of the resumption of the service.Medical visas for Bangladeshis were previously processed strictly on emergency or humanitarian grounds. But there has been a spurt in the approval of medical visas since the resumption of tourist, or regular, visas.Over the past four weeks, Desun Hospital has recorded a 30%-35% increase in Bangladeshi patient footfall at its Kolkata and Siliguri units. The rise is the steepest in two years, said Sajal Dutta, chairman & managing director of Desun Hospital. “The reopening of India’s regular visa services has significantly boosted medical tourism from Bangladesh,” he said.RN Tagore hospital, which would get around 2,200 OPD patients and 200 inpatients from Bangladesh a month till Aug 2024, saw arrivals from the neighbouring country drop to less than 20 a month by end-2025. “Over the last three-four weeks, the number of Bangladeshi patients has increased by 20%, the sharpest rise since restrictions on medical visas were imposed in 2024,” said R Venkatesh, COO of Narayana Health (East), which runs RN Tagore hospital.Ayanabh Debgupta, regional director, east, Manipal Hospitals, said, “We have seen a sharp spurt (in the arrival of Bangladeshi patients) and expect a 25%-30% increase over the next two weeks.”At Peerless Hospital, the number of OPD patients from Bangladesh dropped from 150 a day before the unrest broke out in 2024 to less than 10 a day. The daily arrivals have since gone up to 60 a day. “It has been improving fast since tourist visa approvals resumed in June,” said Sudipta Mitra, CEO of the hospital.
