Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has formally requested a new passport and national identity card (NID) in what is emerging as her clearest move yet towards returning to Bangladesh after more than two years in exile in India.
According to an exclusive report by Reuters published on Monday, November 9, 2026, Hasina made the request through her lawyers in a letter addressed to Preeti Rahman, the acting high commissioner at Bangladesh’s embassy in New Delhi.
The letter, seen by Reuters, marks her first formal communication of this nature since fleeing Bangladesh in August 2024 following a deadly student-led uprising that brought an end to her long-running administration.
Hasina’s legal representatives at London-based Matrix Chambers argued that her existing Bangladeshi passport and National Identity Card had reportedly been revoked by the interim government and other authorities.
“In view of the reported revocation of her existing Bangladeshi passport and National Identity Card (NID) by the Interim Government and other authorities, I respectfully request that you take the necessary steps to issue a new Bangladeshi passport and National Identity Card for our client,” the lawyers wrote.
They further urged the diplomatic mission to process the applications expeditiously, citing her Bangladeshi nationality and international human rights obligations.
The passport application comes as Hasina moves closer to implementing her previously announced intention to return to Bangladesh in December 2026.
In an earlier interview with Reuters, the former prime minister said she intended to return and surrender before a court to face the legal proceedings against her.
Her aides have indicated that the exact return date will be announced once the necessary formalities have been completed.
However, her proposed homecoming faces significant legal and diplomatic complications, particularly following her conviction and the death sentence imposed on her in November 2025.
In November 2025, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Hasina to death in absentia after finding her responsible for ordering a deadly crackdown on protesters during the July-August 2024 uprising.
The United Nations estimated that nearly 1,400 people were killed during the crackdown.
Hasina has consistently denied wrongdoing and challenged the legitimacy of the proceedings against her.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s government has maintained pressure on India to extradite the former leader under the two countries’ extradition treaty.
Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Humaiun Kobir, previously indicated that the government would not issue Hasina a passport or travel document to facilitate her return, insisting that her repatriation should be handled through the extradition process.
Hasina’s Awami League party, which was previously Bangladesh’s largest political party, is also banned from political activities, while several of its senior members have been arrested or remain in exile.
Neither the Bangladesh diplomatic mission in New Delhi nor spokespersons for Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government had immediately responded to Reuters’ requests for comment regarding the latest passport application.
Hasina’s potential return is likely to put Bangladesh’s political and judicial institutions under renewed scrutiny while also testing its already strained diplomatic relationship with neighbouring India.
