Hiring a Japanese Chef in Bangladesh: BIDA Work Permit Guide

Hiring a Japanese chef for a restaurant in Dhaka runs through one agency: the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA). BIDA recommends the employment (E) visa, and after the chef arrives it processes the work permit through its online one stop service. The sequence is unusual, because the chef enters first and the permit follows, and one deadline in it is short. This guide sets out what BIDA publishes and where you will need to ask.

1. The market in numbers

• MAFF counted about 50 Japanese restaurants in Bangladesh in 2025, up 20 on 2023. Country figures are rounded to the nearest ten.
• MOFA recorded 1,037 Japanese nationals in Bangladesh on 1 October 2025, up 7.5%. Of those, 955 were long-term stayers and only 82 permanent residents.

Most Japanese residents are in Bangladesh for a posting, not to settle. The local pool of Japanese trained cooks who are free to join you is close to nil, so plan on recruiting from outside the country.

2. How the system fits together: BIDA, the E visa and the work permit

BIDA's answers to frequently asked questions describe three pieces.

1. Registration. Companies and commercial offices must hold a registration issued by BIDA to appoint foreign nationals. If your restaurant company is not registered with BIDA, that is the first task.
2. The E visa recommendation. BIDA describes the E visa as the visa for employees of private or public organisations, both foreign and local companies. The employer applies for BIDA's visa recommendation through the online one stop service (OSS). BIDA says approval is given online within 24 hours, provided all information and documents are complete. The chef then applies for the E visa itself.
3. The work permit. After the chef arrives, the employer applies for the work permit through the OSS portal. BIDA says an inter-ministerial committee awards work permits.

BIDA's published service standards for commercial offices (branch, liaison and representative offices of foreign companies) list a new work permit fee of BDT 5,000 per person per year and a service time of 16 working days, subject to the committee's approval. Those figures are published for that category of office; we did not find a separate table for a locally incorporated restaurant company on the pages we checked, so confirm the fee and timing that apply to you with BIDA.

3. The local to foreign staff ratio

BIDA limits how many foreigners a business can employ relative to local staff:

BIDA's FAQ does not say which row a restaurant falls under. Ask BIDA before you commit to a number of foreign hires. In practice, a restaurant that wants one Japanese head chef and has a local kitchen and floor team will usually be comfortable on any of these ratios; a small counter planning two or three Japanese cooks and few local staff may not be.

4. Timing: the 15 day rule after arrival

BIDA's FAQ says the employer must submit the work permit application and documents, including a copy of the appropriate visa, within 15 days of the expatriate's arrival. Miss it and you are explaining a late application to the authority that decides your permit.

That shapes how you book the chef's flight. Have the application documents ready before the chef travels: the appointment letter or service contract, passport copies, the visa page as soon as it is issued, academic or training certificates and your company documents. Book arrival for a week when the person handling the OSS portal is in the office, not the start of a holiday.

5. Pay, tax and remittance

We did not find an official minimum salary for foreign employees on BIDA's pages. What BIDA does publish are two points that matter to the offer:

• Tax identification. A foreign employee's tax identification number (TIN) can be obtained through the OSS portal. The upload list includes the passport information and visa pages, the appointment letter or service contract, the work permit and the company's memorandum. BIDA says the certificate is issued online in 3 days if documents are complete.
• Remittance. BIDA's FAQ states that foreigners employed in Bangladesh can remit 80% of their monthly salary, after admissible expenses, savings and retirement benefits, through an authorised dealer.

The remittance point is worth explaining to a candidate early. Many Japanese chefs working abroad send money home or keep a Japanese bank account for family, pension or loan payments. Knowing that most of the salary can be remitted through the banking system removes one reason to hesitate. For the rest of the package, see our guide to relocation packages for chefs.

6. What the official pages do not settle

Be clear with yourself about what is still open after reading BIDA's material:

• which staff ratio applies to a restaurant;
• whether the commercial office fee and timing apply to a local restaurant company;
• whether there is any salary expectation applied by the committee in practice;
• the permit's validity and renewal cycle for your case.

These are questions for BIDA or a Bangladeshi lawyer before you make an offer, not after the chef has resigned in Japan. If your menu has to work for Muslim guests, plan kitchen practice early too; our guide to staffing a halal Japanese kitchen covers the hiring side.

7. Step by step

1. Make sure the employing company holds a BIDA registration.
2. Ask BIDA which ratio, fee and timeline apply to a restaurant.
3. Recruit from Japan or from Japanese kitchens abroad; interview and test remotely (see remote skills tests).
4. Issue the appointment letter or service contract.
5. Apply for BIDA's E visa recommendation on the OSS portal; the chef applies for the E visa.
6. Within 15 days of arrival, file the work permit application on the OSS portal and pay the fee.
7. Obtain the chef's TIN through the OSS portal and set up payroll.

For a comparison with other markets in the region, see India and our overview of visa sponsorship for Japanese chefs.

General information gathered from official BIDA pages in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. Several points that matter to a restaurant are not settled by the published material; confirm them with BIDA or a qualified adviser in Bangladesh before acting.