Suresh Raj Neupane

Nepal’s embassy in New Delhi has finally issued a notice in regard to the mandatory ‘no-objection certificate’ for Nepalis travelling to third countries via India. Since Nepal’s embassy in New Delhi had not disseminated the information properly, many Nepalis were unaware of the mandate and would only be informed about it at the Indian airports at the time of their boarding.

The issuance of the public notice about the ‘no-objection certificate’ by the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi on Tuesday comes after it received widespread criticism from various quarters. The notice clarifies that Nepalis travelling to third countries via India must fill an application at the embassy in the Indian capital and submit all necessary documents. It further states that those travelling to third countries via India for foreign employment are requested to submit a labour permit issued from the Department of Foreign Employment.

The notice also states that Nepalis staying in India to pursue higher studies or for business purposes are to submit their identity cards or documents pertaining to the study or business at the embassy. Department of Immigration of India and the airport authority had on several occasions in the past one year barred Nepali nationals from travelling to third countries without a no-objection certificate. Many Nepalis, who have had to return from the airports, complained of facing financial losses and last minute panic due to the negligence on the part of Foreign Ministry and the embassy in New Delhi.

Most took to social media on Tuesday to criticise the ministry and the embassy. The Nepali Embassy, however, stressed that it had been holding consultations with the Indian authorities regarding the issue. In the last week of April, the Nepali Embassy in Bangkok had issued a notice urging Nepalis residing in Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore and Vietnam to apply for a no-objection certificate if they wanted to re-enter these countries via Indian airports. After a massive surge in the number of Nepalis going abroad illegally, the Nepali government, through a ministerial level decision in 2009, had prohibited its citizens holding general passports from flying to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Malaysia and Lebanon.

The Nepali Embassy in New Delhi had accordingly written to the Ministry of External Affairs, India, and the airport authority, requesting them to not allow Nepalis to fly to the nine countries out of Indian airports without a no-objection certificate from the embassy. And, in view of the expanding network of human traffickers, India last year made it mandatory for citizens of Nepal and Bhutan to get no-objection certificate from their respective embassies. After the Kathmandu Post covered the news about the problems Nepalis have been facing at Indian airports while intending to travel to third countries via India, Nepali Ambassador to India, Nilambar Acharya, on Twitter had said the embassy has taken necessary initiatives to resolve the problem as soon as possible.

Published on: 15 May 2019 | The Kathmandu Post