KATHMANDU, March 10: Amid fears of the COVID-19 spreading, the government has temporarily suspended the issuing of visas on arrival to nationals of three more European countries starting Tuesday.

With the new coronavirus spreading rapidly outside China, the government has decided not to provide on-arrival visas to the nationals of Spain, France and Germany. With this decision, the nationals of eights countries – China, Iran, Italy, South Korea, Japan, France, Germany and Spain – are now not eligible for on-arrival visas starting Tuesday.

Earlier on March 1, a cabinet meeting had decided not to provide visas on arrival to the nationals of China (including special administrative regions), Japan, Iran, Italy and South Korea. The special administrative regions of China include Hong Kong and Macau. 

Issuing a notice on Monday, the Department of Immigration (DoI) said that the government was closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation. “Taking into account the global recommendation and measures of the WHO, the government of Nepal has decided to temporarily suspend visas on arrival for the nationals of three more countries,” reads the notice.

The government has suspended the on-arrival visas until further notice.

However, nationals of the eight countries can get visas beforehand from the Nepali missions in their respective countries.

These nationals are eligible for visas if they provide a recently issued health certificate with a negative test for the new coronavirus. The health certificate must have been produced a maximum of seven days earlier than the time of arrival in Nepal.

The government has also requested nationals from the eight countries to use Tribhuvan International Airport – the only international airport in Nepal – for arrival and departure. It has said that the land POEs (points of entry and exit) in Nepal are also temporarily suspended for nationals of the eight countries.

The health certificates of foreign nationals are checked at immigration at TIA and at the POEs.
As the POEs are being restricted, the government has urged travel and tour operators to manage travel arrangements accordingly.

As of Monday, the new coronavirus has been found in 103 countries, and more than 3,800 persons have died from it worldwide.

 
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