The Department of Immigration has announced that it will no longer stop individuals traveling on visit visas with official documents.
Ram Chandra Tiwari, director general of the department, said that the practice of turning back travelers based solely on suspicion of carrying false documents will stop.
If any traveler is found to have fake documents, they will be handed over to the police for investigation, he added.
“There will no longer be any ‘offloading’ for those on visit visas. If the documents are fake, they will now be sent directly to the police for investigation,” Tiwari said.
The department held a press conference on Sunday to share this information.
Recently, there has been criticism that immigration officials were extorting money from travelers on visit visas.
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) is also investigating former chief of the Tribhuvan International Airport Immigration Office, Tirtha Raj Bhattarai, in this regard.
Director General Tiwari said that various efforts are being made to reform the immigration process. He also urged the public not to trust anyone claiming that money needs to be paid to immigration authorities.
“Don’t fall for claims that you need to pay immigration. Don’t come with false documents; we won’t turn anyone back. If you come with false documents, we’ll hand you over to the police. Don’t fall into traps in the name of immigration,” he said.
Chief Immigration Officer Narahari Ghimire of the Immigration Office said that there is a Forgery Detection Unit to check for forged documents.
“There’s also a Forgery Detection Unit. Generally, if documents are forged, we can tell because something is amiss. In some cases, a brief interview reveals the truth,” he said. “I’ve been at immigration for a month, and some travelers admit during that they are going to work on a visit visa.”
The department has been drawn into controversy due to the practice of turning back individuals based solely on suspicion.
To address this, the department has decided to stop sending people back based on suspicion alone. If investigation is needed, the case will be handed over to the police specifying the reasons for suspecting falsification of documents.
The Department of Immigration has been holding discussions with various agencies in phases to improve its processes. It has consulted with airlines, travel agents, and manpower companies related to the airport.
Director General Tiwari urged passengers, airlines, local governments, media, foreign diplomatic missions, travel agencies, and currency exchange businesses to fulfill their respective responsibilities to improve the immigration process.
The department has sent letters to the Home Ministry, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Ministry of Labor and Employment, and Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration regarding the matter.
Additionally, the department has started counseling individuals attempting to travel on visit visas for other purposes.
“We’ve informally started counseling, taking 5-10 minutes with travelers. We will soon make a decision and start it formally too,” Tiwari said.
Airlines overbooking tickets
Director General Tiwari revealed that not only immigration but also airlines were found to have been turning back passengers at the boarding pass stage.
“We discussed with airlines too and found that they overbook tickets. The planes have a certain capacity, but they book more seats than available. They acknowledged this to us,” Tiwari said. “They overbook and then turn back some passengers.”
He urged airlines to stop this practice.
Immigration hands over 20 passports to police for investigation
The Immigration Office has handed over 20 passports to the Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau of Nepal Police, suspecting that the passport holders were attempting to travel abroad for work on visit visas.
The passports were submitted to the bureau a few days ago.
SSP Krishna Pangeni said that the passport holders did not claim to be victims of fraud.
“We are collecting details and will conduct inquiries,” he said. “These cases involve people attempting to travel abroad for work on visit visas. No false documents have been found; only passports have been received.”
