How A Unified Tourist Visa for BIMSTEC Countries Can Be Implemented
Rajiv Upadhyay 
Recently Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe suggested that Bimstec countries ie India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mynmar, Bhutan to be made borderless for tourists on pattern of Schengen visa . It is a positive suggestion which needs to be carefully examined by adopting an active ‘ Islanding Approach’.
A big obstacle in its implementation is the fear of it leading to an unchecked misuse by terrorists and unchecked migration into India from neighbouring countries. While these fears are genuine but this problem can be solved by adopting a stage by stage solution .
In the first phase tourists from G 20 countries can be offered a three months unified BIMSTEC Visa . Indian embassy/ high commission in these twenty countries can have a Bimstec section with staff from all the concerned countries . Any embassy can receive and forward Bimstec visa applications to this section . They can continue to issue single country visa as usual .This section can have data on suspected terrorists and unwanted people . Tourists from G- 20 countries will not give unwanted migration problem .
In the this phase government servants and high income individuals from all these five countries can also be given five year BIMSTEC Visa . This will again not involve the fear of misuse .
In the second phase after two years of trial of the first phase ,the unified visa scheme can be extended to twenty next lot of rich or mutually agreed friendly nations as well as selected safe category of citizens from the five countries like big business men , university and teaching staff etc.
Further extension can be to countries offering VISA free entry to Indians and other neighbours if mutually agreed .
It is a no cost solution to greater integration of these countries and deserves to be tried.
