Responses to Information Requests

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Access to Documentation

According to Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) 2019 Country Information Report, an

estimated five to six million Nepali are undocumented. This may leave them unable to access government services. The majority of these would be able to prove their Nepali nationality, however would need help with bureaucracy. Class, gender and caste issues may be relevant and may further prevent access to documentation. (Australia 1 Mar. 2019, para. 5.39)

The same source also indicates that Nepal does not have asylum legislation, and that the government "usually declines to issue identity documents to Tibetan refugees and asylum seekers" (Australia 1 Mar. 2019, para. 3.5). Other sources similarly indicate that Tibetan refugees have not been issued personal identification documents (US 20 Apr. 2018, 16; UN 29 May 2018, para. 37) in the last 20 years (US 20 Apr. 2018, 16). The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) explains that

Tibetan refugees and their children, including those born in Nepal and who have been living in Nepal for decades, are not provided with identity documents and are consequently exposed to fines, detention and deportation for irregular stay, and are unable to obtain an education, open a bank account, obtain a driver's licence and travel. (UN 29 May 2018, para. 37)

Australia's DFAT report on Nepal also indicates the following:

According to a 2007 court ruling, genders other than "male" or "female" should be able to [be] listed on identity documents, including citizenship certificates and passports. A further court ruling in 2017 re-emphasised the government's responsibility to issue such documents. These reforms have been introduced gradually. (Australia 1 Mar. 2019, para 3.78)

The US Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report 2018 indicates that "[s]ome government officials reportedly accept bribes to include false information in Nepali identity documents or provide fraudulent documents to prospective labor migrants, a tactic used by unscrupulous recruiters to evade recruitment regulations" (US 28 June 2018). Australia's DFAT report similarly indicates that

[a] black market exists for citizenship certificates and other official documents in Nepal and fake documents and fraudulently obtained genuine documents can be obtained with the appropriate contacts and financial resources. Government officials may "sell" citizenship certificates and Nepalis with citizenship certificates may also provide misleading or false information in support of other people's applications.

…

While fraudulently obtained genuine documentation can be obtained through internal corruption, the lack of centralised record-keeping for civil documentation does not assist in the accurate production of documents. Manual records are still heavily relied upon, particularly in rural areas. A system of Village Head identification also allows for exploitation of this system. Biometrics are not often captured as part of processing of documents and documents often contain minimal security features, if any exist at all. (Australia 1 Mar. 2019, para. 5.45-5.46)

2. Citizenship Certificates

According to the US Department of State's Reciprocity Schedule for Nepal, at "the completion of age sixteen," Nepalese citizens can apply to the Chief District Office (CDO) for a citizenship certificate, which "contains the person's name, the father's name (husband's name in the case of a married woman if the subject so chooses), the date of birth, and the district where the person resides" (US n.d.). The same source indicates that to obtain a citizenship certificate, the applicant must provide the birth certificates and citizenship certificates of their parents at one of the 75 District Administration Offices [DAOs] (US n.d.). The citizenship certificate is delivered at no cost, as a "[t]ypewritten or handwritten letter with the black-and-white rubber seal of the issuing authority" (US n.d.). Further and corroborating information on requirements and procedures to obtain a citizenship certificate, as well as on format and appearance, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to Australia's DFAT report,

[c]itizenship certificates are required by Nepalis to purchase or transfer land; register births, marriages, and deaths; open bank accounts, obtain micro credit loans, and register businesses; attend higher education institutions; acquire travel documents; receive state benefits for the disabled, widowed, or elderly; run for public office; and to enlist in the army, the armed police, and the civil police force. Certificates are also required in order to access formal sector employment opportunities, such as full-time permanent jobs that provide sick leave and pensions. Dual citizenship is not permitted in Nepal. (Australia 1 Mar. 2019, para. 5.41)

In its mission report on the human rights of migrants in Nepal submitted to the UN Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur notes that while

citizenship certificates are the primary document that gives individuals a legal identity in Nepal, he received information that more than 4 million people in Nepal are at present without citizenship certificates. He notes that citizenship identification is instrumental for day-to-day life: for instance, to apply for a passport, open a bank account, vote, access higher education and government welfare schemes, or simply to buy a SIM card for a mobile telephone. In particular, women, children born out of wedlock, or children of a refugee or naturalized parent, are deprived of part of their rights owing to a lack of citizenship certificates, as a result of limited provisions in previous legislation. (UN 30 Apr. 2018, para. 94)

3. Birth Certificates

According to the US Reciprocity Schedule for Nepal, since 24 November 2015, birth certificates (also referred to as Birth Registration Certificate, Recommendation Certificate, or Birth Verification Certificate) can be registered online, after which the "Metropolitan City Office (Local Registrar's Office)" will deliver a "token number" that will allow the applicant to collect the certificate from that office within 30 days (US n.d.). The same source indicates that birth certificates contain the following information: the person's name, the name of their father and mother, the person's date and place of birth, and the date the certificate was issued (US n.d.). The source later indicates that the certificate may also contain the grandparents' names (US n.d.). The source adds that

• A person born before 1974 can present his/her citizenship card in order to obtain a birth certificate from the [Village Development Committee (VDC)], municipality, sub-metropolitan office, or metropolitan office of each district office.
• A person born in or after 1974 can obtain a birth certificate from the birth and death registration office of the concerned municipality, sub-metropolitan office, metropolitan office, or VDC where the person is residing or was residing at the time of his/her birth or death[.] (US n.d., emphasis in original)

The Reciprocity Schedule also indicates that the VDC, municipality, sub-metropolitan office or metropolitan office "charge fees at their discretion" (US n.d.). The source further describes the appearance of birth certificates as follows:

There are several valid formats of typewritten, handwritten, or hybrid (typewritten and handwritten) birth certificates, generally marked with the black-and-white rubber seal or color self–ink stamp of the issuing authority. The different formats are widely divergent because birth certificates are issued by four different types of offices in each of Nepal's 75 districts. Some birth certificates are in English, some are in Nepali, and some are in both languages. There is no single special seal, color, or format that is uniform across all Nepali birth certificates. (US n.d.)

A copy of a blank birth registration certificate, available on the Gulariya Municipality website, is attached to this Response (Attachment 1).

The US Reciprocity Schedule notes that

[b]irth registration certificates are issued at the request of the concerned person or the concerned person's family. Despite the legal requirement, very few parents register the birth of their children at the time of their children's birth. Birth registration certificates are often issued long after an individual's actual birth. Birth records issued by hospitals are not considered legal documents, but can be used to obtain a legal birth certificate. (US n.d.)

Further information on the birth registration process, on the appearance of birth registration forms and related documents, is provided in a report by the Danish National ID Centre, which is attached to this Response (Attachment 2).

According to Australia's DFAT report, due to the requirement that children be registered by male family members, "[c]hildren of unmarried mothers, unknown fathers, abandoned children, and children whose paternity is denied by their father can face greater difficulty accessing birth registration which later extends to difficulties in obtaining citizenship certificates" (Australia 1 Mar. 2019, para. 5.40). An August 2018 article by the Nepalese English daily newspaper The Himalayan Times notes, however, that the draft Bill on the Right to Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health includes a provision that a "newborn will be entitled to a birth certificate" without the requirement of the father's name (The Himalayan Times 8 Aug. 2018). Sources indicate that the Right to Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health was passed in September 2018 (The Himalayan Times 14 Sept. 2018; The Kathmandu Post 17 Sept. 2018; Setopati 14 Sept. 2018). Further information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4. Driver's Licences

Sources indicate that the Department of Transport Management launched smart licences to replace paper licences starting in December 2015 (The Himalayan Times 1 Dec. 2015; The Kathmandu Post 4 June 2017). The same sources report that the distribution of smart licences had started in the Bagmati Zonal Transport Office (The Himalayan Times 1 Dec. 2015; The Kathmandu Post 4 June 2017), and the Himalayan Times reports that the system was expected to be fully implemented across the country within three to five years (The Himalayan Times 1 Dec. 2015). In June 2017, the Kathmandu Post wrote that the Department of Transport Management was "making preparations to launch the service in 13 other zones of the country beginning July 15" (4 June 2017). A news article in República, a Nepali newspaper associated with the New York Times (República n.d.), indicates that the smart licences that were issued until 2016 contain some errors, as all licences issued were of the "nonprofessional" category (including for licences meant for professional drivers), lacked explanation of the licence "category," and lacked mention of the issuing office (República 13 Dec. 2016). According to a 2018 article in The Kathmandu Post, "[i]ssuing new driving licences has become complicated following the decision to switch to digital licences from the traditional driving permit" (The Kathmandu Post 3 Nov. 2018). The article explains that provincial governments were waiting for federal authorities to delegate to the provinces the power to issue the licences according to a common mechanism that was yet to be implemented (The Kathmandu Post 3 Nov. 2018). Meanwhile, some provinces were reportedly "desperate" to issue licences and "threatened to start issuing [them] if the federal government fail[ed] to open licence applications" (The Kathmandu Post 3 Nov. 2018). However, the article notes that "[t]here is [a] widespread opinion that state governments are ill equipped to issue driving licenses" (The Kathmandu Post 3 Nov. 2018). Further and corroborating information on the implementation of the smart licences could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to the Himalayan Times, a new amendment to the Motor Vehicle and Transport Management Act, 1993, came into force on 27 October 2016 and includes the following requirements:

Any person aspiring to obtain [a] driv[er's] licence [for] heavy motor vehicles now has to wait until they attain 25 years of age. Prior to the new amendment to the Act, a person having attained the age of 21 years and 18 years was eligible for [a] licence to drive truck[s] and bus[ses,] respectively.

The amendment has also raised the minimum age for obtaining licence[s] for light motor vehicles and motorcycle[s]/scooter[s] from 18 and 16 years to 21 and 18 years.

…

Similarly, the new amendment has a provision which allows an applicant to submit new application after 30 days if he/she fails in the written or trial test. Earlier, the time-limit was three months.

Once the applicant clears the written test, he/she may attend the trial exam … three times. The validity period of [the] licence has also been extended to 10 years from five years. (The Himalayan Times 24 Nov. 2016)

Further information on requirements and procedures to obtain a driver's licence, as well as on its appearance and format, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

5. National Identity (NID) Cards

According to the website of the Nepalese National ID Management Center (NIDMC), which is under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Nepal adopted a policy on 30 June 2010 to distribute biometric smart National Identity cards (NID Cards), to all Nepalese citizens to be used for "various purpose[s]" (Nepal n.d.a), including as an identity document, for property records, for banking transactions, as a social security card, as a "record for security management," as a voter's card, and to allow instant access to an individual's personal and biometric information (Nepal n.d.b). The NIDMC, established 17 July 2011, is responsible for collecting the personal and biometric data necessary to distribute the cards (Nepal n.d.a). Sources report that the NIDMC began printing national identity cards in November 2018 (The Himalayan Times 1 Nov. 2018; IDEMIA 12 Dec. 2018; The Kathmandu Post 2 Nov. 2018). According to the NIDMC, the NID Card contains information including personal information, such as name, family name, address, age, sex, a photo and fingerprints (Nepal n.d.b). A blank sample of the NID Card, as posted on the NIDMC website, is attached to this Response (Attachments 3 and 4).

The NIDMC also states that those who have "[c]ompleted 16 years of age" and are eligible for, or hold a Nepalese Citizenship Card can obtain the NID Card, while noting that the "users" of the NID Card may include "[n]on-resident Nepalese and [f]oreign [c]itizens as [p]rovisioned by law" (Nepal n.d.b). The website also indicates that NID Cards are produced by the NIDMC in Kathmandu and distributed by DAOs (Nepal n.d.b). The same source further indicates that if the NID Card is lost or damaged, the card holder can apply to obtain a duplicate of the card at the NIDMC via a DAO (Nepal n.d.b). Further information on the requirements and procedures to obtain or replace the NID Card could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

6. Non-Resident Nepali (NRN) Identity Card

According to the website of the Embassy of Nepal in Washington, DC, foreign nationals of Nepali origin and Nepali nationals living abroad can obtain an NRN Identity Card, which can be applied for at the embassy and is processed within four business days (Nepal n.d.c).

Foreign nationals of Nepali origin must provide the following documents:

• A duly filled in application form[.]
• U.S. Naturalization Certificate and its copy[.]
• U.S. Passport and its copy[.]
• Citizenship certificate and a copy as a proof of Nepali Origin.
• Copy of Citizenship Certificate of father/mother/grandfather/grandmother or any other document that proves their Nepali nationality.
• Document/proof of any profession or business in the country of current nationality.
• Document/proof of employment in the country of current nationality.
• A recent passport size photograph (for the application form).
• Two recent auto size (25mmX30mm) photographs (for the identity card).
• Revenue Fees of US Dollars 520 Money Oder or Cashier's Cheque (US $ 500 for NRN ID and US $ 20 for registration).
• Self-addressed prepaid return envelope with tracking number. (Nepal n.d.c)

Nepali nationals must provide the following documents:

• A duly filled in application form[.]
• Nepali Citizenship Certificate and its copy.
• Nepali Passport and its copy.
• Documents related to business in the current country of residence.
• Document/proof of employment in the current country of residence.
• A recent passport size photograph (for the application form).
• Two recent auto size (25mmX30mm) photographs (for the identity card).
• Revenue Fees of US Dollars 70 as Money Order or Cashier's Cheque (US $ 50 for NRN ID and US $ 20 for registration).
• Self-addressed prepaid return envelope with tracking number. (Nepal n.d.c)

According to Section 4(3) of the Non-Resident Nepali Act, 2064 (2008), the identity card issued

shall be valid, for not exceeding ten year [sic] in the case of a foreign citizen of Nepalese origin subject to visa acquired by him/her, and for a period up to two years if he/she is a Nepalese citizen residing abroad. Provided that, an identity card may be issued, to a Nepalese citizen who is permitted to reside abroad for more than [t]wo years by respective foreign state, for such period. (Nepal 2008)

Further information on the NRN Card, including its appearance and format, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Australia. 1 March 2019. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). DFAT Country Information Report: Nepal. [Accessed 21 Mar. 2019]

The Himalayan Times. 1 November 2018. Rastriya Samachar Samiti. "Government Starts Printing National Identity Card." [Accessed 21 Mar. 2019]

The Himalayan Times. 14 September 2018. Rastriya Samachar Samiti. "Health Related Bills Passed Unopposed by HoR." [Accessed 10 Apr. 2019]

The Himalayan Times. 8 August 2018. Jagdishor Panday. "Birth Certificates in Mom's Name to Be a Norm." [Accessed 1 Apr. 2019]

The Himalayan Times. 24 November 2016. " DoTM Reopens Applications for Driving Licence." [Accessed 10 Apr. 2019]

The Himalayan Times. 1 December 2015. "Smart Driving Licence From Next Week." [Accessed 5 Apr. 2019]

IDEMIA. 12 December 2018. "IDEMIA Delivers the First Smart National Identity Card to the Citizens of Nepal." [Accessed 21 Mar. 2019]

The Kathmandu Post. 3 November 2018. Sanjeev Giri. "Centre Quivers as Provinces Rush to Issue Driving Licence." [Accessed 10 Apr. 2019]

The Kathmandu Post. 2 November 2018. Anil Giri. "Home Ministry Starts Printing National ID." [Accessed 1 Apr. 2019]

The Kathmandu Post. 17 September 2018. Tika R. Pradhan. "Parliament Passes All Bills On Basic Rights." [Accessed 10 Apr. 2019]

The Kathmandu Post. 4 June 2017. "Govt to Roll Out Smart Licences Across Nepal." [Accessed 5 Apr. 2019]

Nepal. 2008. Non-Resident Nepali Act, 2064. [Accessed 10 Apr. 2019]

Nepal. N.d.a. Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of National ID and Civil Registration. Home page. [Accessed 21 Mar. 2019]

Nepal. N.d.b. Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of National ID and Civil Registration. "FAQs." [Accessed 5 Apr. 2019]

Nepal. N.d.c. Embassy of Nepal, Washington, DC. "NRN ID." [Accessed 5 Apr. 2019]

República. 13 December 2016. Krishna Dhungana and Pushpa Raj Koirala. "The Smart Driving License Has 3 Serious Flaws." [Accessed 28 Mar. 2019]

República. N.d. Facebook. "About." [Accessed 10 Apr. 2019]

Setopati. 14 September 2018. "Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Rights Bill Passed." [Accessed 10 Apr. 2019]

United Nations (UN). 30 April 2018. Human Rights Council. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants on His Mission to Nepal. (A/HRC/38/41/Add. 1) [Accessed 21 Mar. 2019]

United Nations (UN). 29 May 2018. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Concluding Observations on the Combined Seventeenth to Twenty-third Periodic Reports of Nepal. (CERD/C/NPL/CO/17-23) [Accessed 21 Mar. 2019]

United States (US). 28 June 2018. Department of State. "Nepal." 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report. [Accessed 21 Mar. 2019]

United States (US). 20 April 2018. Department of State. "Nepal." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2017. [Accessed 21 Mar. 2019]

United States (US). N.d. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. "Nepal Reciprocity Schedule." [Accessed 21 Mar. 2019]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Nepal – embassy in Ottawa.

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; The Asia Foundation; EU – Public Register of Authentic Travel and Identity Documents Online; Factiva; Freedom House; Human Rights Watch; ​Keesing's Documentchecker; Khabarhub; Lokanta; Nepal – Consulate General in Hong Kong, embassy in Canberra, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labour and Transport Management, Ministry of Local Development; Nepsort; UN – Refworld; Xinhua News Agency.

Attachments

1. Nepal. N.d. Birth Registration Certificate Sample. [Accessed 18 Mar. 2019]
2. Denmark. 17 December 2018. Danish National ID Centre. Nepal: Birth Registration and Related Civil Status Documents. [Accessed 18 Mar. 2019]
3. Nepal. N.d. Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of National ID and Civil Registration. National Identity Card Front. [Accessed 5 Apr. 2019]
4. Nepal. N.d. Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of National ID and Civil Registration. National Identity Card Back. [Accessed 5 Apr. 2019]