Service provision has begun from the Korala Immigration Office in Mustang district on Friday.

For the first time, 13 Nepalis have left for China a year after the office was inaugurated. Former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak inaugurated the office on Kartik 14, 2081. Due to heavy snowfall in the premises of the Korla Immigration Office, the immigration service was provided from the Lomanthang Area Administration Office. According to the Immigration Department, a team of 13 people, including the chairman of the Lomanthang Rural Municipality, left for Lhasa via Korla on Friday. The Chinese immigration has also issued visas on ordinary passports from Korla for entry into China. Despite various efforts, the service could not be operated. As the Nepal government has declared the Upper Mustang region a prohibited area, a fee of 500 US dollars must be paid for the first 10 days when entering or trekking in that area. Chinese citizens also have to pay 500 US dollars when entering Nepal through the Korla border crossing. The Nepalese government has been providing tourist visas to Chinese for 150 days free of charge in a year. Since Chinese citizens and citizens of other countries have to pay 500 US dollars upon entering the restricted area, discussions are underway at various stages to review the fee. There are immigration, customs, quarantine, security and other offices with modern infrastructure at the Korla border crossing on the Chinese side. On the Nepal side, there is only an immigration office in Korla. The quarantine, customs and security offices are located about 15 kilometers away in Nechung. Due to this, it is not easy to provide integrated services from the customs, immigration and security agencies.