Eligibility quiz
Were you adopted by a parent who is a Bangladeshi citizen?
Benefits
Benefits for your childBenefits for your child
Bangladeshi passport
A Bangladeshi passport is generally issued for 10 years, or five years for children under five.
A valid passport or travel document is required to leave Bangladesh.
Live in Bangladesh for life
Citizenship has no ordinary expiry date or renewal cycle.
Citizens can live and settle anywhere in Bangladesh and leave and return, although lawful public-interest restrictions can apply.
Access education
Bangladesh commits to providing citizens with education, including free and compulsory education up to a stage set by law.
Work in Bangladesh
Citizens can pursue a lawful occupation or run a business, provided they meet any professional qualifications.
They also have equal opportunities for government employment, subject to the law.
Enjoy legal protections
Citizens have equal legal protection and protection from state discrimination based only on religion, race, caste, sex or birthplace.
Subject to law, citizens can practise or share their religion and have privacy at home and in correspondence.
Get help abroad
Bangladeshi missions abroad provide citizens with consular services, including passports, emergency travel documents, birth registration and document certification.
Own and transfer property
Subject to the law, citizens can acquire, hold, transfer and dispose of property.
Vote in elections
Citizens can register to vote from age 18 if they meet the residence and other legal conditions, including not being declared of unsound mind by a court.
Separate postal voting arrangements were introduced for citizens abroad for the 2026 parliamentary election.
Access medical care
Bangladesh commits to providing citizens with basic medical care, but citizenship does not guarantee free healthcare for everyone.
Access social support
Bangladesh commits to social security and assistance in cases including unemployment, illness, disability, widowhood, orphanhood and old age.
Citizenship does not guarantee an automatic cash payment.
How to apply
Applying onlineApplying online
Fill in the application online
Your parent or guardian opens the Ministry of Home Affairs online application page, follows “click here” and signs in with their own Gmail account. They fill in an application for registering a minor if the portal offers one; adoption does not automatically grant citizenship.
Open the applicationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I apply online for registration of a minor as a Bangladeshi citizen?”
Gather your documents
Your parent or guardian should prepare any documents the Ministry asks for.
See required documentsSubmit your application
Your parent or guardian submits the application online if the portal offers a category for registering a minor.
Submit the applicationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I apply online for registration of a minor as a Bangladeshi citizen?”
Wait for the decision
Your parent or guardian waits for the Ministry’s email and checks the decision and registration date. If registration is granted, your Bangladeshi citizenship begins on the registration date.
Find decision informationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I receive the decision on an application for registration of a minor as a Bangladeshi citizen?”
Documents needed
Family certificates and recordsFamily certificates and records
Adoption or guardianship documents
Your adoption document, or a guardianship document if a guardian is applying, may help show your family relationship or your guardian’s authority. Ask the Ministry of Home Affairs what to submit, as it has not published a checklist for this application.
Considerations
Things to think aboutThings to think about
Registration when living abroad
After seven continuous years ordinarily living abroad, a citizen may lose citizenship if they did not register annually at a Bangladeshi mission or through a prescribed alternative.
Service for the Bangladesh Government or an international organisation during that period is an exception.
The government must consider loss in the public interest and give notice and a chance to respond.
National service for men
Male citizens aged 18 to under 20 with at least matriculation-level education may be liable for national service, with exclusions and exemptions.
People who enrol in the National Guard can be called up in specified circumstances.
Parliament eligibility limits
A person who acquires citizenship of or acknowledges loyalty to another country is disqualified from Parliament.
An exception applies in stated circumstances to a Bangladeshi citizen by birth who later gives up the other citizenship or re-accepts Bangladeshi citizenship.
Citizenship can be lost
Citizens aged 21 or over generally lose citizenship if they hold another nationality and do not give it up as required, with some exceptions.
Citizenship can also be taken away for fraud in obtaining domicile or citizenship, disloyalty, enemy conduct or revocation of naturalisation.
A prison sentence of at least 12 months within five years of naturalisation, or seven years living abroad in some cases, can also lead to loss.
Discuss
Online communitiesOnline communities
r/Dhaka
English Reddit group for people interested in Bangladeshi local life
Join on Redditr/bangladesh
Reddit group for people interested in Bangladeshi local life (English & Bangla)
Join on Redditr/Chittagong
Reddit group for people interested in Bangladeshi local life (English & Bangla)
Join on RedditConsultation
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