KATHMANDU, May 10: Family Rights Nepal has addressed the concern of foreign citizens who are married to Nepali citizens and their children are deprived of some natural rights such as family reunion, employment, education, residence, and travel due to not having residence permits in Nepal at a press conference held on Thursday.

According to a press statement issued by the organization, stakeholders have said that this situation has arisen due to various legal and policy ambiguities in the existing legal system of Nepal regarding spouses of Nepali citizens and their children.

Family Rights Nepal, an organization working on the rights of families of Nepali citizens married to foreign nationals, said that according to the general principles of justice, no country should deprive the families of its citizens of their natural rights.

"There is legal ambiguity as if we Nepali citizens should not marry foreigners," the statement quotes Karma Tamang, general Secretary of the organization, as saying. "In this way, our spouses and children are deprived of family reunification, the right to live together after marriage, employment, education, and so on," the statement further reads.

Speaking to media persons at a press conference held in Kathmandu on Thursday, Dr Manish Oli, the president of the organization, said, "Thousands of Nepali citizens and their families and children have been affected by our government's silence and ambiguity even in the matter of such common humanity."

The statement reads, “Drawing the attention of the Office of the President, the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, and the Ministry of Home Affairs, the organization has demanded to implement a system of residence permits for husbands, wives and children of Nepali citizens married to foreign citizens.”

On the issue of dual citizenship, which is currently in dispute, the organization clarified, "Dual citizenship is not our demand. However, currently there is no permanent or temporary provision to allow them to stay in Nepal. Even when visiting the country, they have to pay fees like tourists and not like family members."

Stating that it is difficult to get a work permit in Nepal, the organization mentioned in its statement that many Nepali citizens’ families are in trouble due to the situation where they have to renew their marital relationship visas annually.

The organization has presented two types of demands to the relevant bodies - one that can be addressed immediately and the other that can be addressed in the long term. In the immediate case, it has been demanded that there should be legal clarity for the ease of residence, work permit, movement within the country, family reunion in Nepal, among others. It has also demanded permanent residence permits for the spouses and children in the long term.

“The number of foreigners married to Nepali nationals and their children can only be estimated. The data shows that there are 1,416 on marriage visa and 6000 on relationship visa currently residing in Nepal,” board member Anita Lama said.