The government has introduced a provision with a five-year entry pass for residents of the districts bordering China to cross the border without a passport. From Taplejung to Darchula, citizens of 15 districts from Taplejung to Darchula have been issued 'Procedures for Providing China Travel Permits to Nepali Citizens of Districts Bordering China - 2081' by giving identity cards for a period of 5 years from the District Administration Office.

According to the procedure, in the first phase, arrangements have been made to get permission from the district administration office for 14 checkpoints in 10 districts, said Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, spokesperson of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

China has reduced the five-year provision to 1 year and accordingly requested to include 'security features' with personal details. The Chinese Embassy in Nepal, in a proposal sent to the home through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that 14 different points will be opened for cross-border travel, but the permit period for that should be 1 year. Similarly, there is a proposal of China to issue identity cards with a high priority on 'security features'. The Ministry of Home Affairs has said that it may take some time to implement the period as per the provisions of the new procedure and until then, passes will be issued as per the current provisions.

The length of Nepal's border area with China is about 1,414 kilometers. It includes Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha, Solukhumbu, Dolakha, Sindhupalchok, Rasuwa, Dhading, Gorkha, Manang, Mustang, Dolpa, Mugu, Humla, Bajhang and Darchula districts. 

Bhattarai said that according to the procedures, the administration will not issue passes to the residents of the districts that have permanent traffic and road access routes with China. He said that the five-year provisions will be implemented only after managing the infrastructure and manpower. According to the Nepal-China bilateral agreement/agreement, citizens of the border districts of both countries can travel up to 30 kilometers without a passport based on a letter from the administration. There is no mention of 30 kilometers in the five-year provisions procedure.  According to the

procedure, persons who have acquired citizenship of the respective district, their minor children, those who have married a citizen of the respective district and settled permanently, and those who have migrated from other districts and come to the respective district will get this facility to travel to China. 

It is stipulated in the procedure that only the district from which the identity card is obtained is allowed to travel. For this, you have to apply for an ID card online with a copy of the citizenship certificate, recommendation from the concerned ward office, documents related to immigration or marriage, in case of minors, birth certificate/minor identity card and passport size photo. The person filling the

details will have to self-declare that he belongs to the respective district. After submitting the specified documents online, a 9-digit 'Alpha Number Code' will appear and the first letter of this number starts with 'P', then the district code in the Citizenship Management Information System (CMIS) and finally the 6-digit computer code number can be obtained from the district administration. . 

With the extension of the permit period to 5 years, the presence of the administration and security mechanisms in the monitoring, regulation and prevention and control of cross-border crime has increased the risk that illegal activities may increase further. 

Jitendra Pun, the son of the then Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun, when his father was the Vice President, made an identity card from the District Administration Office Humla to travel between Nepal and China by influencing the administration officials that he was a citizen of Humla, even though he was a citizen of Rolpa. It was revealed that Jitendra, in collaboration with smugglers from China, had engaged in illegal gold transactions under the guise of this identity card. If there is no system to regulate the submitted documents and details, there is a risk that the procedures issued by the government may also be misused. Home Spokesperson Bhattarai said that a new procedure will be implemented to organize the records of the pilgrims with the government and to monitor and regulate if the passes are misused.

There are only 3 immigration, 5 border administration and 10 border security posts towards the border with China. Only Tatopani in Sindhupalchok, Timure in Rasuwa and Hilsa in Humla have immigration offices. There are border administration offices at Olangchungola in Taplejung, Hatiyakhola in Sankhuwasabha, Namche in Solukhumbu, Lamabagar in Dolakha and Beas (Changru) in Darchula.

The Armed Police Force (APF) has set up border outposts at only 10 places including Olangchungola in Taplejung, Kimathangka in Sankhuwasabha, Lamabagar in Dolakha, Tatopani and Gumba in Sindhupalchok, Rasuwagadhi-Kerung in Rasuwa, Chekampar in Gorkha, Nechung in Mustang, Hilsa in Humla and Tinkar in Darchula ( BOP). Apart from this, there is almost no government presence at more than a dozen checkpoints. 

During the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's visit to China from October 6 to 13, 2080, there was a discussion for easy access to the Chinese market for the Nepalis in the border areas. A 5-year entry permit was discussed to allow the residents of the border districts of Nepal to enter up to a certain point. 

After the then Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayankaji Shrestha's visit to China, the Ministry of Home Affairs had brought forward the issue of bringing a procedure for giving five-year entry permits to the residents of the northern border region from the district administration. On May 12, 2 months after Shrestha returned from his visit, 7 border crossings to Nepal, which were closed during the Corona period, were opened. China has already announced to open 7 more traditional border crossings between Nepal and China by August 15.