The Department of Consular Services (DoCS) has introduced online legal service system to assist in and facilitate various consular related matters.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Prakash Sharan Mahat on Friday inaugurated the facility that will save thousands of service seekers time and money as they no longer need to travel to Kathmandu to avail themselves of consular services like evacuation of Nepali people from foreign land, seeking compensation for those killed abroad and other grievances.

The DoCS provides services to countrymen in foreign land when they have to claim compensation and insurance in case of death and injury, helps in evacuation when Nepalis are stranded on foreign soil and facilitates in bringing the bodies of those killed abroad back home among others.

Similarly, it also provides services relating to document attestation. Sunday onwards, those who want to seek consular services can log on to the DoCS website to take the online services. They can also submit applications or register complaints if they have any.

According to officials, service seekers can submit their applications or register grievances or consular related matters online from any part of the country.

After logging and updating the application or grievances, any service seekers can track the progress where their application or grievances have reached. The DoCS website will also provide full information regarding the documents the service seekers need to present.

Nepali missions aboard will directly receive applications, complaints and grievances and they will accordingly forward the issues to the centre for quick redressal.

This facility will certainly help Nepali citizens home and abroad, said Minister Mahat after inaugurating the online service. “This also saves time and money of thousands of fellow citizens who earlier had to travel to Kathmandu to for consular services. Now all the services are just a click away,” said Mahat.

Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi described the launch of online services as a revolutionary move in government services and hoped that other government agencies would also follow suit.

Consular General Gahendra Rajbhandari highlighted the key features of the online service, saying it saves time, money and papers, lessens work burden and helps in maintaining archive. There is no risk of misplacing the documents now, he adding.
 

Published on: 29 January 2017 | The Kathmandu Post