Immigration seeks clarification from Industry on visa abuse

KATHMANDU, July 22: Department of Immigration (DoI) has written to Industry Department to conduct strict monitoring of the business activities that foreign nationals are engaged into before recommending their visa renewal.

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This comes amidst a report that an overwhelming majority of foreign nationals living in Nepal on business visas are found to have made “business” just an excuse to stay here longer and carry out other activities. Republica on its July 22 edition had carried a news report on this. [break]

Director General of DoI Madhav Raj Regmi said his department recently wrote a letter, asking the Industry Department to ensure that foreign nationals staying under business visa are genuinely into the businesses they have proposed before recommending their visa renewal.

The letter was written after documents accompanying a recommendation of Industry Department for visa renewal showed that there was no transaction made. “We wrote the letter asking reasons behind renewal of visa if the foreign nationals had not made any investment at all,” said Regmi.

While tax clearance documents show that both transaction amount and taxable amount are zero, Industry Department is found to be writing that the business or industry is in operation during inspection. “This is something contradictory,” said Regmi. “There must be some investment made if the business or industry is indeed in operation.”

The letter has sought clarification from Industry Department on such contradiction.

According to DOI, there are a total 4,884 foreign nationals living in Nepal on business visa. The majority of those acquiring business visas have acquired them purportedly for running hotels, restaurants, software outsourcing businesses, travel, tour and courier businesses, among others.

As per the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act 2049 BS, the Department of Industry needs to write a recommendation letter for business visas for foreign nationals who have registered their companies at the Company Registrar’s Office, following approval of their business plans. This is renewed each year as per the recommendation of Industry Department following an inspection visit to the business or industrial venture undertaken by a foreign national.

Altogether 1,647 businesses or industrial ventures have been registered in the country so far in the name of foreign nationals. Of these, 150 were registered during nine months of fiscal year 2005/06 alone. Officials admit that a majority of them have not come into operation as yet.

Sources said Industry Department officials make recommendations without undertaking any inspection visit to the business or industrial undertaking in question.

koshraj@myrepublica.com