Hassles to receive passports likely to persist in existing conditions

Kathmandu, Aug. 21: On November 17, 2021, Nepal started providing e-passport with an aim to deliver quality passports in terms of security and design as per the guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

It was a significant achievement in Nepal’s passport history. From handwritten passports used for decades, Nepal started issuing machine-readable passports in 2010 and since last year e-passports are being distributed. 

However, it has been a hassle for the public to receive an e-passport. Thousands crowd and queue the office of Department of Passports in Tripureshwor, Kathmandu, every weekday.

At least 2,000 individuals arrive daily at the department after receiving an appointment date while many arrive to seek an appointment date too.

However, the appointment date is not available by visiting the department. An individual needs to fill the pre-enrolment form through the department’s website and apply for a date to visit the nearest office providing passports-related service for biometric details.

Nevertheless, it is easier said than done, so service seekers face an ordeal just to get a date by means of online application. 

Sanam Karki, 26, a resident of Urlabari Municipality of Morang district, received his passport some days ago after almost two weeks of struggle. 

“Be it early morning, beginning of office hour, afternoon, evening or midnight, I tried all hours continuously for days. I couldn’t pass through the pre-enrolment stage. I couldn’t select the appointment location and even if I did, the appointment slots were already fully booked,” said Karki, who was in need of the passport to apply for IELTS examination.

Karki had also sought help from outlets opened nearby the department which help filling up the pre-enrolment form. However, his turn would come at least a week later.

“I kept on trying and finally got a date. Getting a passport should never be so hard,” he said.

Showing a pile of hundreds of applications, an employee at a cyber café, where a couple of individuals were regularly refreshing the department’s pre-enrolment site near the department, said, “We have yet to fill pre-enrolment of these many applicants. There are few quotas opened daily and thousands are applying at once. We have been able to fill the pre-enrolment of only a handful daily.”

According to the Department of Passports, the department accepts 2,000 service seekers daily and around 4,000 individuals in total visit the district administration offices and area administration offices. 

“Around 6,000 passport seekers across the country are addressed from the offices providing the services daily. We are bound to implement a quota system due to the limitation of resources and manpower,” said Dr. Damaru Ballabha Paudel, spokesperson at the Department of Passports.

“Providing e-passports is a milestone. However, we weren’t prepared properly. We also got a new building but it is not public-friendly. With 2,000 applicants and 2,000 passport receivers arriving at the department daily, we don’t even have a proper parking space,” said Dr. Paudel.

According to Dr. Paudel, around 2.5 million individuals’ passports are to be renewed in 2022 and 2023. Over and above that, there are thousands who are seeking new passports daily. 

The department had employed 40 individuals previously on contract basis to work on computers to update enrolment and biometrics details for e-passports. “We cannot add more manpower on contract basis as the government has restricted it through the budget for 2022/23. We don’t have more resources, neither the digital platform is  excellent,” Dr. Paudel said.

Moreover, Dr. Paudel said that while the department should be a place to provide passports for those in emergency only and focus on managing passport-related issues, it has been bogged down by the task of providing passports. 

“The district administration and area administration offices see passport-related works as extra. They belong to Home Ministry while passport work belongs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We also lack proper coordination with the administration offices regarding passport issues,” said Dr. Paudel.

Sanam Karki said that he came to Kathmandu after he perceived zero possibility to apply for the passport either through the Morang District Administration Office or the Urlabari Area Administration Office.

Meanwhile, individuals who receive an appointment date are also bound to queue for hours to have the biometric details taken after completing several other procedures. 

A guard at the gate of the department said, “So many people come to just ask about the process as they cannot get an appointment date online.”

Possible solutions

Officials at the Department of Passports argued that the passport-related services should be made more effective from the respective district and area administration offices.

“If equipping every district and area administration properly is difficult and expensive, at least province-level offices can be established for passport services,” said Dr. Paudel.

Similarly, individuals outside the Kathmandu Valley should visit the department’s website and select their respective province, district and appointment location due to which the site gets overloaded.

The pre-enrolment process and appointment booking system could be included in respective district administration office’s websites as well, passports department officials suggested.

“Amid increasing trend of youths going abroad for higher education and foreign employment by renewing expired passports, the present resources aren’t adequate to shorten the queues. The department and passports sector should receive more budget to upgrade its resources, add manpower and motivate administration offices,” said Dr. Paudel.

“I have been coming to the computer operative nearby the department almost every day for two weeks now. They try filling the form but the website hangs. I even tried reaching some middlemen, but they too have their hands up,” said Ram Kishore, a resident of Rautahat district.

Dr. Paudel added, “If the passport sector is to operate under the existing conditions, the hassles will persist for long.”