KATHMANDU, Nov 18: The government has decided to provide diplomatic passports to major generals of the Nepalese Army as well as additional inspectors general (AIGs) of Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and the National Investigation Department.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made this arrangement through the second amendment to Rule 10 of the Passport Regulations 2077 BS which grants the government the right to issue diplomatic passports.
Previously, there was no provision in the regulations for them to receive diplomatic passports. Only the chiefs of the securities agencies and lieutenant general of the Nepalese Army were eligible for diplomatic passports.
Rule 10 of the regulation has provisions for issuing diplomatic passports to individuals ranging from the president to those representing the Government of Nepal while traveling abroad for official work or for special assignments.
Diplomatic passports for all chief ministers, province members
The amended regulations state, "Rule 10, Section 'n' of the Passport Regulations 2077 BS (hereinafter referred to as the 'Original Regulations') includes the words ‘Major General, Additional Inspector General of Nepal Police, Additional Inspector General of Armed Police, Deputy Director of the National Investigation Department' after 'Chairperson of the Judicial Service Commission' ."
Similarly, through the amendment to the regulations, if an officer eligible for a special passport is unable to receive it for any reason, the National Investigation Department may decide to issue a regular or temporary passport with the prescribed fee. However, when issuing such a passport, the National Investigation Department will determine the validity period based on necessity. The use of such passports and the process of issuing them will be similar to that of special passports.
Meanwhile, the amendment also allows for the issuance of a new passport for the general public even if the validity period of the existing passport in the holder's name has more than one year remaining.
This provision applies in cases where workers going for foreign employment can apply for a new passport if the validity period of their current passport is shorter than the approved duration of their foreign employment, provided that they present relevant documents.
Similarly, students going abroad for higher education can also apply for a new passport if the validity period of their current passport is shorter than the duration of their studies, by providing relevant documents.
Validity period of one-way travel permit extended to six months
Similarly, through the amendment to the regulations, the validity period of the one-way travel permit has been extended to six months by increasing it by three months.
In cases where a passport is lost, torn, damaged, or unusable for other reasons, the regulation now mandates that an additional fee will be charged, amounting to 50 percent of the applicable fee, when applying for a new passport.
