2 hrs ago
Nepal Plans Passport-Free Travel System for Foreign Visitors
Nepal is planning a new system to help foreign visitors travel more easily.
Visitors would install an official immigration app after arriving.
They would add a scanned copy of their passport and their visa information.
After registering, they could leave their paper passport in a safe place while traveling inside Nepal.
The app could be used at hotels, airports, money exchanges and travel agencies.
Visitors could also request visa extensions through the app.
Nepal says the system will make immigration services simpler and more convenient.
Officials also want it to help them know where foreign visitors are staying and traveling.
Nepal’s Department of Immigration is preparing a Passport-Free Travel system for foreign nationals.
Visitors would upload passport and visa details to the department’s official mobile app after arriving.
Registered travelers could use the app instead of physical passports for domestic flights, hotels, currency exchange and travel services.
The app will also allow foreign nationals to apply for visa extensions.
The initiative is designed to simplify travel while helping authorities track foreign nationals through the existing FNMIS database.
- Who
- Nepal’s Department of Immigration and foreign nationals visiting Nepal.
- What
- The department is preparing a Passport-Free Travel arrangement using an official mobile app.
- Where
- Across Nepal, including at domestic airports, hotels, money exchange counters and travel agencies.
- When
- The arrangement is expected to be introduced soon; the related Foreign Nationals Management Information System has operated since January 1 this year.
- Why
- To make travel and immigration services more convenient while helping Nepali authorities track foreign nationals and improve their safety.
Key facts
- System name
- Passport-Free Travel arrangement
- Required information
- A scanned passport copy and visa details uploaded through the official Department of Immigration app
- App platforms
- Android and Apple iOS
- Possible uses
- Domestic flights, currency exchange, hotel check-ins and travel arrangements
- Additional service
- Visa-extension applications
- Existing database
- The Foreign Nationals Management Information System has operated since January 1 this year
- Participation
- 1,652 service providers and more than 180,000 foreign nationals have been included in the FNMIS so far
Quotes
Ram Chandra Tiwari
Director general of Nepal’s Department of Immigration
“For example, they may forget their passport at a hotel while travelling and be unable to produce it when required. 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.”
thehansindia.com
“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.”
thehansindia.com
Sources
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