Inside Nepal’s visit visa scandal and tainted home ministry

Nepal’s tightening of its documentation for outbound labour migration was supposed to curb illegal outflows. Instead, it’s become central to the modus operandi of criminal networks for corruption, exploitation and human trafficking.

On May 21, a scandal unfolded after the country’s anti-graft body, Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) or ‘Akhtiyar’ as the civic Nepali tongue calls it, raided the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) Immigration Office.

Reportedly, the raid investigation was prompted by increasing complaints of extortion of large sums of money from outbound migrant workers by immigration officials.

An organised nexus of private service providers, like travel and manpower agencies, to top officials, appears to be shaping national migration policies to serve their own interests on the pretext of ‘visit visa’, while exploiting ordinary Nepalis looking for a future overseas.

After the Fake Bhutanese Refugee Scandal, which came into light in March 2023,  Akhtiyar’s allegation list for crime masters once again points to officials from the same high-level public body and high-profile private secretariat—the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and Home Minister, including incumbent Ramesh Lekhak, respectively.

What is now publicly known as the ‘Visit Visa Scandal’ revolves around the systematic abuse of procedures governing visit visas, which are short-term permits meant for tourism or business purposes.

The basics of the procedures

The Immigration Manual, 2008, guides and regulates the official labour migration procedures. As per the manual’s provision 2(b) of Chapter 3, the arrival and departure of Nepali citizens requires a valid passport and purpose/concerned visa, an air ticket to the final destination, and a labour permit namely Foreign Employment Permit (FEP).

Any Nepali citizens seeking foreign employment are required to meet strict guidelines to obtain the permit, which are issued by the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), which falls under Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS), after verifying an offer letter from a foreign employer and life insurance, among others.

Additionally, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) issued by the Embassy of Nepal in India was previously required for travel to Gulf countries as well as Iraq, Libya, and Lebanon via Indian airports. Since last year, this has been exempted for the permit holders.

As these procedures are often laden with red tape, aspiring migrant workers find it tough to navigate on their own. So, many turn to manpower agencies for assistance. The manpower agencies may persuade them to opt for unofficial channels instead, like the visit visa, which is relatively easier to obtain.

Akhtiyar alleges certain Nepali manpower agencies have been bypassing the manual and exploiting the red tape through an organised racket. Illicit activities range from forging documents to operating full-fledged human trafficking networks facilitated by officials at the TIA immigration office—a regulatory checkpoint that has instead become a transactional node in a broader ecosystem of institutional decay.

Once abroad, these individuals (who are mostly low-income migrant workers) frequently find themselves trapped in exploitative jobs or are left stranded jobless in a foreign land without any legal protection.

According to a report by Pravasi Nepali Coordination Committee (PNCC), a non-governmental organisation working for migrant workers’ rights, nearly half (49%) of over 15,000 cases registered with them between 2014 and 2022 were related to employment contract violations. Additionally, 25% of cases involved unsafe working conditions and 12% were related to imprisonment.

Without the permit, it’s difficult to obtain government assistance in case of illness, accidents, or even death. On the other hand, the manpower agency or the foreign employer is responsible for their well-being, bound by international labour standards if employed through legal and authorised channels.

Paper burdens, the roadway for systemic corruption

Earlier, migrant workers were required to follow a 17-point guideline, which was introduced in 2022. These guidelines turned controversial for being overly stringent and having opened donkey routes of corruption and extortion.

Among the conditions were unreasonable requirements like having already travelled abroad before, lived overseas for more than two years, and demonstrating language proficiency or educational qualifications. Furthermore, applicants also needed to show high income and savings and obtain a recommendation from embassies, among others.

On September 26, 2023, the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office conducted a probe and studied the documents of 1,513 visit visa applicants.

Police detected forgery and complicity in the documents, like relation certification, bank details, and police report, among others, of 246 applicants. Upon investigation, it was found that visit visa seekers had to pay between NRs 10,000 and NRs 55,000 to officials at the airport, including airline staff and immigration officers. However, media reports suggest they extorted anything from NRs 300,000 to NRs 1.1 million, depending on the destination of employment.

In what was widely seen as a corrective measure, Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha scrapped the 17-point guideline and introduced a simplified 6-point guideline, which made the visa relatively more accessible. The new guidelines, effective from January 24, 2024, trimmed away excessive conditions:

1. A valid passport (at least six months’ validity)
2. Appropriate visa or entry permit to the destination country
3. Confirmed return flight tickets
4. Proof of accommodation arrangements or family relationship in the destination country
5. Financial proof (equivalent to at least $500)
6. Special self-declaration requirement (for Gulf countries only)

While travel policy became more liberalised with the new guideline, bureaucratic hassles remained [with points 3, 4 and 5]. The requirement for such layers of paperwork is however not limited to the visit visa alone.

Students seeking to study in a foreign country also have to go through such hassles. They have to first obtain a NOC from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, a document that permits students to study in a foreign country.

The document also facilitates banking transactions, such as tuition fees to foreign institutions. But it has no business at the immigration checkpoints at the TIA. Yet it has become a redundant hassle for students during migration procedures, with officials engaging in an intimidating ordeal in the absence of the NOCs.

Additionally, a new report has emerged revealing NOC-related irregularities following allegations of bribe exchange at the ministerial office at Sanothimi of varying amounts from NRs 30,000 to NRs 100,000 depending on the destination country.

In a separate but related issue, in 2021, the immigration department proposed a policy to the Home Ministry that would exclusively bar women under 40 travelling overseas for the first time without the consent of their families and local ward offices. While the authorities justified the move as a trafficking prevention measure, it was condemned as regressive and discriminatory.

Who is Tirtharaj Bhattarai?

Bhattarai served as a joint secretary at the MoHA, while his name isn’t new to controversies within the civil service.

During his previous tenures as local development officer in Kathmandu district in 2015 and later as the Director General of the Department of National ID and Civil Registration, his name had surfaced in several corruption charges, including the Tarpaulin Purchase Scam and irregularities in national identity card contracts. 

Bhattarai is also under Akhtiyar’s another investigation for amassing illicit property, which is likely to conclude soon. Yet, he was appointed to one of the most sensitive posts in the country’s immigration system.

Meanwhile, he was under surveillance after Akhtiyar received complaints about his involvement in facilitating human trafficking through visit visas. After the May 21 raid, he was detained immediately, but was released soon after on the condition that he would appear before them the next day.

During the raid, Akhtiyar officials seized crucial documents, electronic devices, and even the personal diary and phone belonging to Bhattarai, who served as the Chief Immigration Officer at the TIA office and was transferred to the ministry a day before the raid.

Akhtiyar subsequently sent 16 mobile phones of suspected individuals, including three of Bhattarai’s, to the forensics: a personal device, one for official use by the office chief, and a third device he appeared to be using.

Home Ministry’s alleged involvement

The immigration department falls under the jurisdiction of the MoHA, which is responsible for and holds direct authority over it and the subordinate immigration offices, including the one at TIA. And this oversight extends to disciplinary actions.

Following growing reports of malpractice and Akhtiyar launching investigations into allegations, the home ministry had transferred 15 officials, including Tirtharaj Bhattarai from the immigration office to various departments and subordinates. 

Notably, Bhattarai was reassigned to the ministry in Singhadurbar upon ministerial decision approved by Home Minister Lekhak, raising public suspicions of possible involvement of higher authorities in the scandal.

Lekhak’s alleged involvement

Lekhak is a senior Nepali Congress (NC) leader and is considered a key architect of the current ruling alliance with CPN-UML. 

After Lekhak was embroiled in the scandal, the opposition parties, including the CPN (Maoist Centre), Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), obstructed the parliament since May 27, demanding his resignation. They said that the scandal has severely damaged the country’s global credibility.

However, CPN (Maoist Centre), on June 13, parted ways with the opposition alliance after signing a two-point agreement with the government. As per the deal, the government pledged cooperation with Akhtiyar and promised to initiate reforms to address the systemic lapses in the immigration apparatus, but mentioned nothing about investigation into Lekhak’s involvement.

Meanwhile, RPP and RSP continue to obstruct the House of Representatives, insisting on Lekhak’s resignation and the formation of an independent probe panel. Despite the obstruction, Speaker Devraj Ghimire, on June 15, proceeded with the session amid loud and continued protests by the opposition lawmakers throughout the session. 

On the other hand, the dissident faction within the NC, led by Shekhar Koirala, has echoed those calls while the UML, which is leading the coalition, continues to shield Lekhak.

Immediately after the raid, on May 24, the MoHA refuted media allegations of the involvement of its officials in the scandal through a press release signed by its joint secretary.

Lekhak himself denied any wrongdoing at a press conference on May 28. “There is no official complaint or investigation against me,” he said, distancing himself from the scam and placing the blame solely on the immigration officials.

However, with several scandals emerging one after another relating to top politicians and officials and chances of abuse of power to conceal evidence, there is a moral pressure on Minister Lekhak to resign for fair proceedings.

Immunity for top ministers

A few months ago, Lekhak was involved in the mishandling of the pro-monarchy incident that happened on March 28. While the protest turned violent, which vandalised private and public properties, a journalist was burnt to death and a civilian was shot dead by the police. No independent investigations were conducted, though. 

On December 8, 2023, two aspiring migrant workers preparing for Korean exams were killed after police opened fire, which was not investigated either. Maoist Centre’s Narayan Kaji Shrestha held the home ministry then.

Three years back, The Annapurna Post broke the news that Finance Minister Janardan Sharma had invited unauthorised persons to change tax rates a day before the budget was announced. Despite allegations, he held the position for the next 20 days until an 11-member parliamentary probe committee was formed.

Sharma, who belonged to the Maoist Centre, got a clean chit after the committee failed to obtain any substantial evidence, including CCTV footage of the time, which disappeared suspiciously. He was eventually reinstated.

Home is a tainted ministry

Home is a powerful portfolio that influential party leaders often pursue while forming their governments. It’s also frequently mired in scandals and controversies—from abuse of power to corruption—implicating senior secretaries to the minister.

In 2023, another Nepali Congress member Bal Krishna Khand who held the office (July 12, 2021 to December 26, 2022), was arrested for his involvement in the Fake Bhutanese Refugee Scandal, allegedly extorting over $2 million from over 800 Nepalis as a settlement to send them to United States in the guise of Bhutanese refugees.

Amidst this scandal, it was Khand who introduced the 17-point guideline for obtaining the visit visa on March 11, 2022.