Memorandum to the Minister of Foreign Affairs requesting the establishment of a Nepali Embassy in Portugal

Since the only official representative organization of the Nepalese government there, the office of the non-paid consul general, has been closed since this year. They have demanded to establish an embassy saying that they have to suffer.

They have demanded that if the embassy is not established, at least the office of the unpaid consul general should be established. Portugal-based Nepal Indigenous Tribes Federation, Non-Resident Nepali Association, Magar Association, Tamu Society, Sherpa Kidung, Tamang Society, Kirat Yakthung Chumlung, Nepal Public Relations Committee, Nepali People's Progressive Forum, Nepali Society, Far West Society jointly submitted a memorandum to Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba on Friday. They have requested to establish a liaison office in Lisbon, Portugal until the embassy is established.

Earlier, the Nepali Embassy in France was serving as an unpaid consul general. They say that in the absence of an embassy, ​​they have to spend a lot of money to get document authentication services.

'In Portugal, where more than 50 thousand Nepalis are living, around 100 Nepalis are in need of direct service consumption from the Nepalese government every day. But ironically, when the newly appointed Ambassador to Portugal has not yet taken office, due to the void created after the termination of the services of the unpaid Consul General here, the Nepali people, who have been verifying the character certificate of the Nepal Police at a cost of less than fifteen euros in the past, now have to bear the burden of more than two hundred euros without any fault. It is a painful situation. This is just a representative example,' the memorandum says, 'The monthly income of Portugal is very low compared to other European countries and most of the Nepalis are only working as wage earners (mostly unskilled workers) for low wages, so the unnecessary high fees and complicated process seen in the verification of Nepali documents. It seems that it should be addressed as soon as possible.'

They say that the Nepalis who came to Portugal to earn money after not seeing the possibility of employment in the country are facing mental problems due to having to spend huge amount of money for document verification.

'In the current situation, pain is added to the pain because there is a deep gap between the service fees paid to Nepalis in Portugal and the monthly income of Portugal issued by the Paris Embassy, ​​France, which looks after the affairs of Portugal.' Reconsider your decision regarding the fee and set a fee suitable for earning income here in Lisbon, Portugal We strongly request that a contact office be established and service provided.'