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New law to make passport process lengthier, costlier
KATHMANDU, JUL 10 -
Acquiring a passport is going to be a lengthier and costlier affair once the Cabinet endorses the new passport regulation drafted by the ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).
The regulation has provisioned the distribution of passport solely by the MoFA, discontinuing the prevalent practice of their issuance from District Administration Offices (DAOs) across the country.
“After the adoption of Machine Readable Passport (MRP), we will be compelled to distribute passport from the ministry alone due to various reasons, including the shortage of technical manpower, security issues and funds to set up costly printing press,” an MoFA official said.
According to the new regulation, which is awaiting the Cabinet’s approval, the aspirants will have to submit their applications in the respective DAOs, which will deliver them to the MoFA through the fastest postal service. The same measure would be taken while issuing passports from Nepal’s missions abroad.
The MoFA is has been distributing passports through a centralised system after Nepal failed to meet the deadline to adopt MRP.
“Once we produce qualified technocrats, we will start issuing passports from our missions in different regions,” the official said. The proposed law has not, however, specified about who will bear the postal charges within and outside the country. This provision will make passport affairs lengthier and costlier. “We cannot afford the required manpower immediately, and it is virtually impossible to distribute passports from districts. We can only think of regional distribution system due to costlier technology,” he said.
Similarly, the persons who need the passport urgently or seek a duplicate copy will have to pay the additional charge of Rs. 2,500. As of now, no extra charge is levied for acquiring a passport under any circumstances. A copy of passport with a validity of 5 or 10 years costs Rs. 5,000 now. However, normal charges for a passport copy will vary in different places; for instance, in Kathmandu, Riyadh and Washington, according to the new system.
Posted on: 2010-07-11 11:08
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