Working in Bangladesh as a French National: Employment Visa, Work Permit, Tax and Social Protection

A visa is compulsory for any French national, and work requires a specific permit. Investors and employees must hold a private investor (PI) or employment (E2 or E3) visa to apply for a work permit. The E2 visa targets expatriates employed by national, international, public or private organisations, branch, liaison or representative offices and contractors on public projects; the E3 targets expatriates responsible for installing or maintaining machinery and software, or supervising or inspecting projects. BIDA issues the recommendation letter needed for these visas, and visas can be issued only by Bangladesh missions abroad (BIDA).

The employer, previously registered with BIDA, submits the application online with a copy of the visa, within 15 days of the expatriate’s arrival, then pays the fees. The documents include the BIDA registration or authorisation letter, the board resolution, the visa recommendation letter, diplomas and experience certificates, the service contract, passport copies, a staff statement and the company’s latest tax certificate and audit report; a repatriation certificate for at least USD 50,000 of incoming capital is requested from local, joint-venture or 100% foreign-owned companies, where applicable.

The permit is granted for one year initially; extensions are in principle authorised for five years at most. Industrial projects registered with BIDA get their permit in three days, commercial offices (branches, representative offices) in 16 days, if the file is complete and accurate. An amendment to the permit costs 1,000 takas, plus 15% VAT. Industrial projects may generally employ foreigners in a proportion of one foreigner for ten local employees at the start, then one for twenty in the operating phase.

An employee who changes employer must have their permit cancelled, leave the country and return with the appropriate visa to obtain a new permit. The Bangladesh embassy pages describe a shorter employment visa (three months at most, stays of 90 days, extension up to three years with the Department of Immigration and Passports) than the durations of the BIDA permit: the visa and the permit have separate durations, to be checked separately. See the page living in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has no single national minimum wage: the law provides for minimums by sector, set by minimum wage commissions and revised periodically. The ILO notes that a legal minimum wage is set in most major sectors and calls for a national wage policy based on data. The Ministry of Labour and Employment published on 21 December 2023 an order setting minimum rates in the garment industry; the detail of this scale was not read and is therefore not reproduced here.

For a French national employed by a registered company, pay is negotiated in the service contract submitted to BIDA; it is expressed in takas or, often, in dollars (France Diplomatie: payments are generally made in dollars or takas). Income statistics by sector are published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, which this guide does not detail.

For resident taxpayers, the income tax exemption threshold is set by the budget of the financial year. If total income exceeds this threshold, a uniform minimum tax applies, lower for new taxpayers. A deduction limit applies to employees, and the surcharge is calculated on the normal tax and not on the minimum tax (National Board of Revenue). The scale of bands can be consulted in the National Board of Revenue’s budget speech; the rate applicable to a non-resident was not confirmed and should be checked with it.

The tax agreement between France and Bangladesh, signed in Dhaka on 9 March 1987, entered into force on 1 September 1988 (law no. 88-5, decree no. 88-897). For pensions, social security pensions and public pensions are taxable in the source state, and other pensions in the beneficiary’s state of residence. In case of dual residence, the agreement applies, in order, the permanent home, the centre of vital interests, habitual abode and then nationality (BOFiP). The text of the agreement should be confirmed on impots.gouv.fr.

France and Bangladesh are linked by no bilateral social security agreement: Bangladesh does not appear in CLEISS’s list of states that have concluded an agreement with France. In the absence of an agreement, an employee sent by a French employer may be kept in the French scheme through the secondment provided for by French law, whose duration and conditions should be confirmed with the Urssaf (the French social contributions collector) and CLEISS; care is reimbursed under French rules on supporting documents. The seconded employee remains liable for any contributions due in Bangladesh. See the glossary entry on the seconded employee and the guide seconded or expatriate.

A locally hired employee benefits from no coordination with France: their health cover relies on the employer, private insurance or the CFE (Caisse des Français de l’étranger, the voluntary social protection body for French expatriates). Current health spending is financed nearly 80% directly by households (World Bank), which reinforces the value of a comprehensive insurance contract. See the page healthcare reimbursement in Bangladesh.

The official sources consulted for this guide detail neither an employee’s social contributions in Bangladesh nor the existence of an unemployment or retirement scheme applicable to foreigners: these points should be confirmed with the employer, the Ministry of Labour and Employment and BIDA before signing a contract. CLEISS publishes no social protection sheet for Bangladesh, for lack of an agreement with France.

In practice, an expatriate arranges their own protection: retention of the French scheme through secondment, voluntary membership of the CFE, international health insurance with medical repatriation and, for retirement, continuation of French rights. See the guide CFE and the page retiring in Bangladesh.

A self-employed worker has no employer to apply for a work permit: the official sources consulted describe no dedicated status for the foreign self-employed or digital nomads. An entrepreneur who sets up a local company goes through registration with BIDA, a precondition for any visa recommendation: BIDA provides neither visa recommendation nor work permit to companies not registered with it.

A remote worker employed by a French company settles their residence, social and tax status before departure with the Bangladesh embassy in Paris, the Urssaf, CLEISS and the tax administration. See also digital nomad insurance.

The “Economic indicators” block above displays the indicators in real time. The country devotes about 2% of its GDP to current health spending, according to the World Bank, and life expectancy at birth is about 75 years. The currency is the taka, and France Diplomatie indicates that payments are generally made in dollars or takas; sums of more than USD 5,000 are declared on arrival.

A candidate usefully compares the salary in foreign currency, the length of the permit, their family’s health and repatriation cover and the security conditions described by France Diplomatie (the French foreign ministry) before accepting an offer.