Eligibility quiz
Were you born in Bangladesh?
Benefits
Benefits for youBenefits for you
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 from inside BangladeshApplying from inside Bangladesh
Find your registration office
Citizenship by birth is automatic if you qualify; birth registration records your birth. Use the birth-registration application to find the office for your birthplace or permanent address.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Which Bangladesh birth registration office covers your city?”
Gather your documents
Prepare the required documents for the birth registration office.
See required documentsFill in the application online
Open the BDRIS birth-registration application and choose your birthplace or permanent address, then select the relevant division, district and registration office. Fill in the form in Bangla Unicode and English, and upload your supporting evidence as JPG, JPEG or PNG files of no more than 2 MB each.
Fill in the applicationSubmit your application
Submit the form and enter the one-time code sent to the Bangladesh mobile number you provided. You cannot edit the form after submitting it.
Submit the applicationPrint your application
Print your submitted birth-registration application.
Print the applicationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I print my submitted Bangladesh BDRIS birth registration application?”
Hand in your application
Within 15 days, get the certification specified on the printed application and take it to the indicated birth registration office with the printed application and any attested copies it asks for.
Find submission instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I hand in a printed Bangladesh BDRIS birth registration application to the registration office?”
Get your certificate
Contact the birth registration office for your birth-registration certificate. It records your birth; it does not create your citizenship.
Find certificate instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I get my Bangladesh BDRIS birth registration certificate from the registration office?”
Documents needed
Required to applyRequired to apply
Application form
This is the birth-registration application, not a separate citizenship application. Print your submitted form, have it certified as shown on the printout, and include the evidence it lists, with certified copies where requested; uploaded images must be JPG, JPEG or PNG and no larger than 2 MB each. If a guardian or authorized person certifies for a child, include proof of guardianship or authorization.
Photo ID *
Provide your photo ID. Check with your consulate which IDs it accepts.
* Only if your consulate asks for it.
Recent photograph *
Provide a recent photograph of yourself. Check with your consulate for its photo requirements.
* Only if your consulate asks for it.
Proof of birth *
Provide one document showing your birth in Bangladesh: your Bangladeshi passport or national ID card, an older birth registration certificate, your Secondary School Certificate (SSC), or a hospital record. Check with your consulate which documents it accepts.
* Only if your consulate asks for it.
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
Talk to a professionalTalk to a professional
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