# AI tells a traveler they can extend a Bangladesh visa-on-arrival online or at any time before it expires

- **ID:** `visa/voa-extension-week-window-in-person`
- **Domain:** visa
- **Category:** administrative_barrier
- **Verification:** ai_generated
- **Fix Rate:** 60%

## Root Cause

A Bangladesh visa-on-arrival extension cannot be filed online or by mail, and cannot be filed early 'to be safe.' Official policy only allows applying up to about a week before the visa expires, in person, at the Department of Immigration and Passports in Agargaon, Dhaka, using a downloadable paper form. Applying too early is rejected; not applying in the window leaves overstay penalties as the only outcome.

## Version Compatibility

| Version | Status | Introduced | Deprecated |
|---------|--------|------------|------------|
| any | active | — | — |

## Workarounds

1. **Time the in-person visit to the Department of Immigration and Passports (Agargaon, Dhaka) to fall inside the roughly one-week pre-expiry window, with the printed Form-2, passport, photos, and proof of onward travel ready** (70% success)
   ```
   Download Form-2 from the immigration portal, fill it out in advance, and go to the DIP office in Agargaon within about a week of the current visa's expiry date, allowing for a possible second visit to collect the extended visa.
   ```
2. **If the trip length is known in advance, apply for a longer-duration visa through an embassy before travel instead of planning to extend a 30-day VOA in-country** (80% success)
   ```
   Submit the standard visa application (visa.gov.bd) at a Bangladesh embassy or consulate before departure and request a validity that already covers the full planned stay.
   ```

## Dead Ends

- **Submit a visa-on-arrival extension application two or three weeks before it expires, to lock in extra time early** — Official policy states applicants can apply for the VOA extension 'up to a week before visa expiry but not sooner' - an application filed earlier than that window is out of process and gets rejected, forcing a second in-person trip to the immigration office right before the visa actually expires anyway. (50% fail)
- **Look for an online form or email address to submit the extension application and pay the fee remotely** — The Bangladesh Police Special Branch immigration portal publishes the extension form (Form-2) only as a downloadable PDF to print and bring in person; extensions are processed at the Department of Immigration and Passports office in Agargaon, Dhaka, not through any online submission or payment channel. (50% fail)