Bangladesh has ordered its immigration authorities to restore the Bangladesh passport Israel clause, reinstating the phrase “except for Israel” on the country’s travel documents and reversing a change made under the government of ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2020. A Home Ministry order issued on Sunday said the wording “THIS PASSPORT IS VALID FOR ALL COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD EXCEPT ISRAEL” will once again appear in Bangladeshi e-passports.
Except Israel Passport Bangladesh Wording Returns After Years of Debate
The phrase had appeared on Bangladeshi travel documents for decades before it was quietly dropped in 2021, a change officials at the time attributed to the need to bring passports in line with international standards. Bangladesh does not recognise Israel and has never established diplomatic relations with the country, a position that remained unchanged even after the wording was removed. The absence of the clause nonetheless drew sustained criticism domestically, with many Bangladeshis arguing that the removal sent the wrong signal despite the country’s foreign policy staying the same.
Officials had previously moved to reinstate the phrase on diplomatic passports following the fall of the Hasina government, though that earlier directive was not widely applied across other categories of travel documents. Sunday’s order extends the restoration to all passport types, formalising a change that campaigners and segments of the public had been demanding for some time.
Sheikh Hasina Passport Policy Reversed as Part of Wider Redesign
The Home Ministry said the decision to bring back the Bangladesh passport Israel clause was made in line with the country’s foreign policy, public opinion, and its longstanding support for the Palestinian cause. The move forms part of a broader overhaul of the passport’s design and imagery, with the same order directing authorities to add watermarks honouring key figures killed during the July and August 2024 uprising that the ministry said inspired thousands of citizens to help end Hasina’s fifteen year rule. According to the United Nations, roughly 1,400 people were killed and thousands more injured during that uprising. Hasina has been living in exile in India since fleeing the country on August 5.
The order also confirmed that images and watermarks within the e-passport booklet have been revised, with several visuals connected to Bangladesh’s founding leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, removed from the redesigned document.
Bangladesh Palestine Foreign Policy Remains Consistent Despite Wording Changes
Although the removal and subsequent restoration of the clause has generated debate at home, Bangladesh’s underlying diplomatic position toward Israel has not shifted throughout the period. The country has consistently declined to establish formal ties with Israel, and officials have framed the reinstated wording as a restoration of longstanding practice rather than a change in substantive policy. For many citizens, however, the visible return of the phrase to Bangladeshi passports carries symbolic weight, reaffirming a stance that predates the brief interval in which the clause was absent from the country’s travel documents.
Published in SouthAsianDesk, July 20, 2026
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