Although there are three-tier mechanisms under the Ministry of Home Affairs to regulate the activities of foreign nationals entering Nepal, their effectiveness has been seen to be weak as they do not work according to their assigned responsibilities. Due to the weakness of the monitoring, directing and surveillance system, it has been found that foreign nationals who entered Nepal for one purpose misuse their visas and engage in other activities.

There are three-tier mechanisms for regulating the activities of foreign nationals, monitoring and facilitating travel, and taking action against those involved in violating the law. According to the Foreign National Monitoring Directive-2075, there is a Central Monitoring Steering Committee led by the Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The steering committee, led by the Secretary, including the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Labor and Employment, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, National Investigation Department, and Immigration Department, has been assigned the responsibility of monitoring/getting the activities of foreigners residing in Nepal, directing action if they are found to be staying illegally, identifying risk areas and suspicious persons and illegal entry points and directing them to bring them under the scope of action, identifying suspicious persons and workplaces and directing them to prepare reports, and preparing a crime control and information system.

Similarly, the Monitoring and Implementation Committee, led by the Director General of the Immigration Department, also has a mechanism to manage the activities of foreign nationals and take action against the guilty. Under the leadership of the Director General, officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Airport Immigration, Tourism Board, Department of Industry, Department of Tourism, Department of Labor, Department of Consular Services and Department of Immigration will participate. 

This mechanism has been assigned the responsibility of implementing the instructions received from the Secretary-led Steering Committee and taking action against the guilty. Similarly, representatives from the Police, Investigation Department, Immigration Office, District Office of Labor and Tourism, etc., led by the Chief District Officer, will be in this mechanism. This mechanism has been assigned the responsibility of monitoring, regulating, and supervising illegal activities, and arresting and sending foreigners to the concerned bodies for action if they are found to be misusing visas. However, as per the directive, these mechanisms are not working, monitoring and regulating foreigners who repeatedly misuse visas has not been possible.

Immigration Department warns against misuse of study visas

Recently, based on confidential information, the Immigration Department raided a house in the Sohrakhutte area of ​​Kathmandu and arrested four Chinese citizens. During the investigation, it was revealed that two of them did not have visas and two had misused their visas. After being found to be engaged in suspicious activities including illegally operating a marriage bureau, they were arrested by a team of the department and brought under investigation.

On October 28, Chinese citizens Ruizheng Alan Wang, Liu Yufan, Rui Xiao and Chai Yan Bo were arrested from a house in Sohrakhutte. During the investigation, they were found to have engaged in activities against immigration laws. During the investigation, they were fined 50,000 rupees each and banned from entering Nepal for 3 years. When the District Monitoring Committee did not monitor and supervise them, they were renting their houses and engaging in illegal activities.

After finding evidence of them staying for one purpose and engaging in other activities, the Immigration Department has refused to extend visas to 21 foreign nationals in the last one month alone. Tikaram Dhakal, Director of the Immigration Department, said that after finding evidence of them coming to Nepal from various countries, staying for one purpose and engaging in suspicious activities, some were refused visas and some applications are under investigation.

‘There were complaints of people getting visas for one purpose but working for another purpose. During the investigation, facts of them repeatedly violating the immigration law were found. After that, it was not considered necessary to extend visas for those who came to extend visas now, and they have now returned to their own countries. The department has refused to extend visas for 21 people from countries including China, America, France, South Korea, and Japan.

Similarly, after receiving complaints of engaging in other activities under the cover of study visas, the department sent a letter to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology through the Ministry of Home Affairs last week, urging them to monitor whether foreign nationals staying on study visas were staying as prescribed and to conduct a detailed investigation before applying for study visas.

According to Dhakal, spokesperson for the Immigration Department, 757 foreign nationals have stayed on study visas in the records as of Sunday. There has also been a trend of changing visas repeatedly to do other activities after entering for one purpose, and Dhakal said that the department is going to tighten the monitoring system in this regard too.

According to the department, a foreigner who came from France on a tourist visa in 2021 married a Nepali woman immediately after arriving in Nepal. After that, he changed his tourist visa and started staying on a marriage visa. The department can issue marriage visas for up to 6 months at a time. After that, the foreign national changed from a marriage visa to a tourist visa and stayed in Nepal. Tourist visas can be issued for a specified period of up to 150 days in a year.

After this visa expired, the French citizen started staying on a study visa on the recommendation of the Ministry of Education. Again, within a few months, he was found to have changed his marriage visa. In this way, after staying under the guise of marriage, tourism, and study in 4 years, he had stayed on a tourist visa 10 times, a marriage visa 6 times, and a study visa 3 times. This time, he had approached the department again, requesting to extend his study visa. After his past was found suspicious, the department refused to extend the visa. After that, the person has now returned to France.

After the details of foreign citizens entering various guises and engaging in suspicious activities started coming out one after another, the department has sent a letter to all 77 district administrations, directing them to bring them under the purview of monitoring and regulation and action if found guilty. According to Dhakal, the director of the department, he said that now a meeting of the committee led by the director general will be held to identify additional risk areas and the monitoring and action will be increased accordingly. The department has already announced the implementation of the Foreign Citizen Management Information System, effective from January 1, 2025. 

The department has stated that in the first phase, it will be implemented in star hotels within the Kathmandu Valley from January 17. In the second phase, the department is preparing to implement this system in all star hotels, airline companies, travel and tours companies, foreign exchange centers in the country from February 17 and then gradually in all types of hotels, guest houses and other public and private institutions. Where do foreign citizens go after entering Nepal? What is their journey like? Have they worked as per the prescribed visa? According to Dhakal, the department's spokesperson, this system has been developed to regulate and monitor all these issues. The department has also issued a circular to all 77 district administrations to follow it strictly.

‘It is believed that through the implementation of this system, it will be easier to maintain systematic records of the stay and activities of foreign nationals entering Nepal and to ensure search/rescue and safety in emergencies,’ the department said in a notice issued on Thursday. ‘In addition, it is expected that the process of information exchange between security agencies, tourism entrepreneurs and other concerned agencies will be simplified and effective, thereby contributing to the safe and systematic development of the tourism sector.’

Due to the lack of systematic regulation and monitoring of foreign nationals entering Nepal, facts have also been found of them renting houses and apartments to run organized crime. The security agencies and the home administration were unaware until the Chinese gang was running a gold smuggling business in the Thamel and Tokha areas of Kathmandu. It was only after the investigation of the smuggled gold entering from the airport that it was discovered that a smuggling ring had been set up in areas including Tokha and Thamel.