Nepal may miss machine-readable passport deadline

KATHMANDU, July 29: Nepal is likely to miss the April 2010 deadline set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for introducing machine-readable passports, as progress in this regard is very slow.

Deadline miss to affect travel abroad

Carrying conventional passports after mid-April 2010 is punishable

Missing the deadline will affect Nepalis traveling abroad as they will not be able to carry Machine Readable Travel Documents. Carrying conventional passports for travel abroad after mid-April 2010 is subject to punishment. [break]

Nepal has already committed itself to the International Civil Aviation Organization to introduce machine-readable passports by April 2010. The need for machine-readable passports was felt in a bit to control the misuse of passports with fake photographs and hand-written particulars.

With just eight months remaining before the deadline, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is calling a global tender shortly.

“We are in the process of global tendering to select the company to make digital passports,” joint secretary at the ministry Arun Dhital said adding, “We are late but still within our timeframe.”

Senior officials at the Tourism Ministry said that they are not satisfied with the snail-pace progress in this regard.

“We sent a formal letter to the Foreign Ministry nearly two years ago, but they turned a deaf ear", said one senior official at the Tourism Ministry adding, “The Foreign Ministry should be responsible for the delay that may lead to missing the deadline.”

Joint secretary of the Tourism Ministry Suresh Acharya said that the ministry had asked the Foreign Ministry to implement the plan with the stipulated deadline. According to ICAO provisions, anyone not carrying a machine-readable passport after mid-April 2010 will be punished. ICAO has also authorized airport officials to deport passengers to their home countries if they are found flying without digital passports. ICAO has already circulated information about the mandatory provision on machine-readable passports to its 190 member countries.

But a senior government officer said that the government can write a letter requesting ICAO to entertain conventional Nepali passports for up to three years more if the deadline is missed.

To date the number of Nepali passport holders is believed to be four million, both in Nepal and in various other countries. The government needs to collect all the passports and replace them with digital ones.

“Just eight months are left but the process is slow. It clear we are going to missing the deadline set by ICAO,” said a senior official at the Ministry of Tourism.