The government has proposed provisions in an amendment bill to the Passport Act allowing passports to be issued by recognizing a mother’s self-declaration and the registration number issued by a Nepali diplomatic mission as official documents.
Until now, there had been no legal provision for issuing passports to children born to Nepali women overseas as a result of circumstances including rape or divorce. Arguing that children of Nepali citizens should not be left stateless, the government proposed allowing passports to be issued on the basis of the mother’s self-declaration and the registration number recorded at Nepali embassies and consular offices abroad.
The amendment bill was accepted by the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
During deliberations on the bill, Barsha Man Pun, a lawmaker from the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), argued that the provision requiring women to make a self-declaration was unnecessary.
In response, Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal said that the self-declaration provision was consistent with the existing Citizenship Act.
“The bill introduces a progressive provision allowing passports to be issued by recognizing a mother’s self-declaration and the registration number issued by a Nepali diplomatic mission as official,” Khanal said. “A passport is itself a dependent document. Since it is a document dependent on citizenship, it is governed by established laws. I have my own views on this, but we have to consider the existing laws and constitutional provisions.”
He said the bill also introduces, for the first time, a provision for temporary passports.
“There is a provision to prevent children of Nepalis living abroad from being left without an identity or stateless on foreign soil,” Minister Khanal said. “If the passport of a person who is stranded or in need of rescue expires, the bill will create a legal avenue for issuing a temporary passport.”
The amendment bill also proposes allowing private visa service centers, including VFS, to handle visa applications.
During the discussion, lawmakers raised concerns about data security, saying such visa service centers would collect citizens’ biometric data.
Currently, passport applications can be submitted through District Administration Offices, Area Administration Offices, and Nepali embassies and consulate general offices abroad.
Khanal said that the number of Nepalis living abroad and the countries where they reside has increased, making it impractical to establish embassies and consulates in every location.
“We are seeking to work with the private sector to collect biometric data to make service delivery easier,” he said. “For example, Nepal has an embassy in Canberra, the capital of Australia, while many Nepalis live in Sydney. Traveling from Sydney to Canberra costs around 800 dollars, and they also lose income if they have to take two days off work. There are many places in Europe without Nepali embassies, forcing people to travel long distances.”
He said that Nepali embassies provide mobile services abroad, but the government is planning to introduce third-party service providers to make service delivery even more accessible. He also said that the government was vigilant regarding data-security concerns.
