Eligibility quiz
Are you married to a man who is a Bangladeshi citizen?
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 onlineApplying online
Gather your documents
Prepare the documents the Ministry of Home Affairs asks for.
See required documentsGet your domicile certificate
If you are not a Bangladeshi citizen, ask the Ministry of Home Affairs how to apply to the Government for a domicile certificate. Before applying for it, you must have made Bangladesh your permanent home and ordinarily lived there for at least the immediately preceding year.
Find certificate instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I apply for a Bangladesh certificate of domicile from the Ministry of Home Affairs?”
Fill in your application online
Open the Ministry of Home Affairs online application service, sign in with your own Gmail account and fill in the citizenship application.
Open the applicationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I apply online to the Bangladesh Ministry of Home Affairs for citizenship by marriage?”
Submit your application
Submit your completed application and the supporting material requested through the Ministry of Home Affairs online service.
Submit your applicationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I apply online to the Bangladesh Ministry of Home Affairs for citizenship by marriage?”
Take the oath
If you are not a Bangladeshi citizen, take the required oath or affirmation of allegiance to the Constitution of Bangladesh. Ask the Ministry of Home Affairs when and how to take it.
Find oath instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I take the oath of allegiance for Bangladesh citizenship by marriage through the Ministry of Home Affairs?”
Wait for the decision
Wait for the Ministry of Home Affairs to decide your application and send you a return email. Answer any requests for more information and read the email for the decision.
See decision informationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How long does a Bangladesh citizenship by marriage application take through the Ministry of Home Affairs?”
Documents needed
Family certificates and recordsFamily certificates and records
Proof of marriage
Provide evidence of your marriage to your husband. Ask the Ministry of Home Affairs which records it accepts.
Husband's citizenship records
Provide evidence that your husband is a Bangladeshi citizen. If he has died, ask the Ministry of Home Affairs what evidence it needs to establish his qualifying status.
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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