Foreigners in Nepal may soon travel without carrying physical passports

Kathmandu: Nepal’s Department of Immigration is preparing to introduce a system that will enable foreigners to travel across the Himalayan country without carrying their physical passports.

The system, which the department has called a “Passport-Free Travel” arrangement, aims to make the stay of foreign nationals in Nepal more convenient, the department said.

To use the facility, foreign nationals, once they arrive in Nepal, will be required to install the official app of the Department of Immigration on their mobile devices and fill in the necessary information, including a scanned copy of their passport and visa details.

“Then they can freely travel across the country without carrying their physical passports,” said Ram Chandra Tiwari, director general of the department.

The department said the app is available on both Android and Apple iOS platforms.

Once they register their details on the app, foreign nationals will not be required to produce their physical passports while boarding domestic flights, exchanging currencies at money exchange counters, checking into hotels, or making travel arrangements through trekking agencies.

“For example, they may forget their passport at a hotel while travelling and be unable to produce it when required,” he said. “By updating their information on the app, they will no longer have to worry about forgetting their passport at a hotel or elsewhere while they are inside Nepal.”

He said that even genuine foreign nationals have occasionally faced problems for not possessing their passports and that the “Passport-Free Travel” arrangement would help eliminate such difficulties.

“Some foreigners have occasionally been arrested for failing to show their physical passports, too,” Tiwari said.

According to Tiwari, foreign nationals will also be able to apply for visa extensions through the same app.

According to the department, the new arrangement is expected to make immigration-related services simpler, more accessible and technology-friendly for foreign nationals. The department aims to achieve two objectives through the initiative: allowing tourists to travel more freely and comfortably while experiencing Nepal, and enabling Nepali authorities to track foreign nationals in the country.

The department is preparing to introduce the new system at a time when it has already implemented the Foreign Nationals Management Information System (FNMIS), a nationwide digital database designed to collect real-time information on foreign nationals from the time they apply for a visa until they leave the Himalayan nation. The system has been in operation since January 1 this year.

Various entities, including hotels, airlines, travel and trekking agencies, money exchange counters and other service providers offering services to foreign nationals, are required to register with the system to ensure its effective implementation.

The department said the system is aimed at ensuring the safety of foreign nationals visiting the country and helping control potential crimes involving foreign nationals.

According to the department, as many as 1,652 service providers, including hotels, airlines, travel and trekking agencies, and money exchange counters, have participated in the scheme so far, with more than 180,000 foreign nationals being tracked through the system.

The department said the FNMIS is important to ensure that Nepali authorities are aware of the movements of foreign tourists.

“Had all hotels and travel agencies been registered with the system, we could ascertain the whereabouts of foreign nationals who went missing following the Aug. 26 floods,” said Tikaram Dhakal, spokesperson for the Department of Immigration.

IANS