No visa on arrival to Syrians from today

Kathmandu January 1- The Department of Immigration has said that no Syrian national holding ordinary passport will be eligible for visa on arrival with effect from today.

“As per the decision of the government, any Syrian national holding ordinary passport will not get visa on arrival from today. Syrian nationals intending to visit Nepal will be required to obtain visa in advance from the concerned Nepali mission abroad,” said the DoI.

With the listing of Syrian tourists as ineligible for visa on arrival, the number of countries whose people do not benefit from this service has reached 12. Earlier, nationals of Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Cameroon, Somalia, Liberia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan were barred from visa on arrival at port of entry.

A recent coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris by suicide bombers, two of whom were from Syria; growing trend of using Nepal as a transit by Syrians to get through to third countries and internal security concerns prompted the government to bar Syrians holding ordinary passport from visa on arrival facility, said officials. Some Syrians were also found to be carrying fake passports in recent times and were deported instantly.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform all Nepali missions abroad about this decision and to act accordingly.