A First-Timer’s Guide to Arriving in Dhaka

Landing at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) for the first time is manageable when you know exactly what to expect. Immigration takes 20 to 60 minutes. Baggage claim adds 15 to 30 minutes. Customs comes after that. Outside the exit, touts will approach you. Your job is to know where to go before any of that happens. Migrant workers returning from the Middle East and first-time travelers from abroad now book airport assistance for returning workers before they land, so a trained agent handles every step at HSIA. We will get to that. First, here is what actually happens after you get off the plane.

From the Plane to Immigration: The First Ten Minutes

After landing at HSIA, you walk from the aircraft to the immigration hall. If your plane used a boarding bridge, take the stairs inside the bridge. If your aircraft parked on the apron, a bus will take you to Gate 21 on the ground floor. Both routes lead to the same place.

Follow the signs marked Arrivals and Immigration. Do not stop at any desk before the main counters unless you need a Visa on Arrival. That desk is on your right before the immigration hall, clearly marked.

At immigration, Bangladeshi passport holders go to the national counter. Foreign passport holders go to the foreign nationals counter. If you hold a Bangladesh e-passport, you can use one of the three e-gates and finish immigration in under 20 seconds.

Fill in the arrival card on the plane, not in the queue. Write your Dhaka address in the address field. If you are staying with family, write their address. If you are in a hotel, write the hotel address.

What Customs Will Check and What You Must Declare

After baggage claim, you choose between two exits. The Green Channel is for passengers with nothing to declare. The Red Channel is for passengers carrying dutiable goods, cash above USD 5,000, or gold above 100 grams. All bags are scanned in both channels.

The rules changed in July 2025 under NBR SRO No. 312. Here is what you can bring duty-free as an adult returning passenger:

• Total baggage: up to 65 kg per adult passenger.|
  
• Gold jewelry: up to 100 grams once per year. Must be wearable ornaments, not bars.
  
• Mobile phone: one new phone per year. BMET cardholders who stayed abroad 6 months or more can bring two.
  
• Laptop: one unit, new or used, for personal use.
  
• Foreign currency: amounts above USD 5,000 must be declared at the Red Channel before you exit.

If you are a migrant worker with a BMET card, keep it with you. You may be asked to show it at customs. It also confirms your duty-free phone allowance.

The Exit Hall: What Happens in the First Two Minutes Outside

The HSIA arrivals exit opens into a public hall where hundreds of people wait. Drivers hold name placards. Family members stand behind barriers. And touts approach everyone who looks uncertain.

Ignore anyone who approaches you offering transport, SIM cards, or money exchange inside the arrivals hall. These are not official services.

If your family or driver is waiting, look for your name on a placard. If no one is there, open Uber on your phone before you walk outside. 

Uber works inside the terminal and lets you book without a local SIM for your first ride. Fares to Gulshan or Banani run BDT 300 to BDT 600 depending on traffic.

Get a local SIM card from the kiosks just outside the arrivals exit. Grameenphone has the widest network coverage in Dhaka. Bring your passport for the purchase registration.

If Your Bag Does Not Arrive

If your bag is not on the belt when all other passengers have collected theirs, do not walk through customs. Go to your airline’s baggage service counter inside the arrivals hall and file a Property Irregularity Report before you leave the airport. Leaving without this report makes compensation almost impossible to claim.

The HSIA Lost and Found section is in Room 15 on the ground floor, south corner. The contact number is +880 1777715535. The HSIA 24-hour call center is 13600.

One Booking That Changes the Whole Experience

A Meet and Assist agent from Global Airport Assisting Services (GLAAS) meets you at the gate with your name on a placard, guides you to the correct immigration counter, helps with your arrival card, stays through baggage claim and customs, and hands you over to your driver at the exit.

You do not need to read a single sign. You do not need to ask a stranger for directions. You just follow someone who has done this thousands of times.

Standard Meet and Assist starts from BDT 500 per person. GLAAS has been operating at HSIA since 2008 and is approved by CAAB. Book at globalair.com.bd, WhatsApp +880 1976 333 444, or call +880 9647 222 888.

The first arrival is always the hardest. Now you know every step before it happens.