Applications submitted in Bangladesh will be assessed by the visa centre of British High Commission in New Delhi from Oct 1.

The UK government on its website said, in doing so, it would “significantly reduce costs to the British taxpayer”.

It assured that passports submitted in its Dhaka and Sylhet centres would remain in Bangladesh and decisions would continue to be made by British Crown Servants.

“The cost of the service will stay the same and we will continue to operate within our existing service standards of 15 working days for non-settlement cases and 60 working days for settlement cases”, it said.

“There will be no need for applicants to travel to India. Nor should they notice any difference to the quality or speed of our service,” the government said dismissing some media reports.

“We have seen reports in the last few days that Bangladeshi nationals wishing to apply for visas to visit the United Kingdom will have to submit their applications in New Delhi.

“This has understandably caused some distress. We would therefore like to take the opportunity to reassure our visa customers”.

It said, as part of its global strategy, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is reducing the number of locations around the world where decisions are made on visa applications.

“UKVI is implementing an extended hub and spoke networks”.