Nepal Launches New Electronic Passports at Lower Cost

Kathmandu. The government has started the process of distributing electronic passports (e-passports) with new technology and at a cheaper rate. Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amrit Bahadur Rai, informed the Public Accounts Committee of the Federal Parliament on Tuesday that passport services have been resumed through the new system since Asar 29. According to Secretary Rai, Nepal has moved past the handwritten and machine-readable (MRP) eras in passport development and is now distributing electronic passports with advanced chips. While a French company was responsible for printing Nepal's passports for approximately 16 years since 2010, a contract has now been signed with a German company through a new tender. In the past, the contract with the French company was initially for $10.45 per passport and later for $10.13. According to department statistics, a total of 5.8 million passports were printed through that company. The current government signed a new contract with two German companies, 'Mullbauer' and 'Veridos', on Shrawan 12, 2080. Under the new contract, the cost per passport has been set at $8.31, which is significantly lower than the previous rate. With the implementation of the new system, service delivery has already commenced from the Department of Passports, some District Administration Offices, and Nepali missions abroad. Secretary Rai clarified that it will take approximately three months for the system to be fully operational, a 'stabilization period'. He claimed that the government has made arrangements to ensure that passport services, which are crucial for foreign employment and the economy, are not interrupted even for a single day. Foreign Secretary Rai also stated that a team including the Director General of the Department of Passports is continuously monitoring the system and that the ministry is committed to providing easy, simple, and accessible services to the Nepali people.