Nepal to resume regular visa services for foreign residents

Kathmandu, July 2 Nepal is set to resume regular visa services for foreigners residing in the country from Friday after suspending them for over a month due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Immigration said.

The Department said that it had decided to restart all the visa services suspended since May 20 by strictly following the health and security protocols of the government, reports Xinhua news agency.

"With the resumption of the regular visa services, an estimated 1,000 to 1,100 foreign passport holders residing in Nepal, who failed to renew or regulate their visas due to the lockdown, will benefit from it," Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, the department's director general, told Xinhua.

The move comes after Nepal has greenlighted limited resumption of international and domestic flights from July 1 with less coronavirus infections reported and the restrictive measures eased over the past two weeks.

Many foreign passport holders in Nepal could not have their visas regulated as they could not reach the immigration offices amid a lockdown enforced since late April to contain a second wave of the epidemic.

According to the notice, foreigners with valid visas of Nepal until April 28 and who are departing from Nepal by July 8 will have their visas regulated without any charge at the time of departure from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.

Foreigners with valid Nepali visas until April 28 and who shall be applying for visa renewal by July 8 for continuing stay in Nepal will have their visas regulated without late fee and penalty.

Foreigners who are departing from Nepal but applying for visa regulation after July 8 will have to pay all the regular visa-related fees, according to the notice.

Foreign tourists can have their visas extended up to 210 days from the previous limit of 150 days, noted the notice.

Bhattarai said, however, that on-arrival visas for foreign tourists would remain suspended.

"Certain foreigners, including diplomats who need to come to Nepal, can get Nepali visas based on recommendation of concerned government agencies," he said.

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