The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has prepared a draft bill to amend the Passport Act, 2076 and has published it for public feedback. The ministry said the draft was released under Section 6(2) of the Legislation Act, 2081, and requested the public and stakeholders to send suggestions within seven days through law@mofa.gov.np.
The proposed amendment aims to clarify definitions related to passports and official foreign visits, add temporary passport as a passport category, and make the process of issuing, distributing, withholding and cancelling passports clearer and more service-oriented. It also seeks to simplify passport procedures for children of Nepali citizens born abroad.
The bill also proposes updated rules on diplomatic and special passports, stronger responsibility for passport-issuing bodies, clearer conditions for refusing or cancelling passports, and revised offences and penalties for misuse, fake documents, altered passport details or use of another person’s passport.
