Travelling The World On A Nepali Passport

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Mount Everest, Nepal / Photo Camilla De Moraes

You went to college on a scholarship, graduated with honours from university, and got a top job in a blue-chip company that even your American classmates coveted. You acquired a green card that was sponsored by your company where they think you are extraordinary, and bought that family beachfront house in Malibu. It has already been six years since you received your US permanent residency, but for one reason or another you decided to keep your Nepali passport, and now it’s time to travel the world!!

You will quickly find that a Nepali passport can be a source of constant grief wherever you travel. From Tokyo to Saigon, Berlin to Istanbul, Paris to Venice, the immigration officer is going to give you a puzzled “which planet is Nepal on?” look as he or she is almost certainly unaccustomed to seeing a Nepali passport. They will cross-reference the Nepali passport against their country’s master immigration directory, scrutinize it to ensure it is not forged, cross-examine you to make certain that your visa and travel documents are, in fact, legitimate, that you are the person pictured in the passport, and that you can prove without even a shred of doubt that you will not overstay your welcome in that country.  Who can blame you for being annoyed after such an encounter? Whilst your initial reactions are likely to be anger, humiliation or both, just understand that the immigration officer is simply following protocol. Don’t take their actions personally. The inquiry is not personal, but representative of how the host country’s government feels about us Nepalis traveling to/through their country.

You will also realize that whenever you apply for a visa, you’ll need to submit a lot of paperwork, and you will probably have to spend significant time and money to have that paperwork processed. For a university visa to enter a country in the European Union it may take months just to get the necessary documents, such as a police report from a place you never lived in your country of birth, or a piece of paper that certifies you were born in the city that is listed in your passport. These papers must be submitted by the village chairman, translated, and then verified by several different government agencies.  This is a true reflection of the condition of our country. Our government’s reputation is pathetic, and even as things improve it will take a very long time before there are any positive changes to people’s perceptions in the rest of the world, and even longer for other governments to change the way they deal with Nepali passports.

Over and over again, despite the sweltering heat or the freezing snow, you will have to stand in long embassy queues with Nigerians, Sudanese, and Bangladeshis, who face the same level of scrutiny by most other countries. These are times you wished you had an American, Japanese, Swiss, or Australian passport which open so many doors with the wave of a hand.  While it’s annoying to stand in line and feel humiliated after these experiences, just try to make the best of the situation. Let the immigration officer do his or her job. After they are done, tell them where Nepal is, that it’s home to Mount Everest, that the Nepali people are extremely friendly, and that when they have their next vacation, they can see for themselves the beautiful country and people. They might not remember you, but they are bound to remember what you told them about Nepal and the Himalayas, and the next time another person passes by with a Nepali passport, they might be treated more kindly.

General tips

• Make sure your passport and visas are current, and the dates and names on the passport are correct and match those on the visa.
• Ensure that you have the proper documentation with you, such as I-20, financial affidavits, or any other necessary supporting documents.
• Don’t take the immigration officers’ actions personally. Be cognizant about the realities of the diplomatic situation between Nepal and the country you are traveling to.
• Be friendly and diplomatic. Leave a positive impression as you are the Nepali spokesperson and many a time you may be the only Nepali person they are going to meet in their lifetime.