No need to line up for electronic passports anymore - new Nepali e-passport

No need to line up for electronic passports anymore

Due to the tendency to wait in line before the turn, the crowd has increased in the passport department at Tripureshwor in Kathmandu. With the introduction of electronic passports by the government, the pressure to create passports has increased.

To manage the crowds, the passport department has introduced a policy of taking time online. After filling the online form from home, the shift is fixed at 11 am 12 noon, 1, and 2 pm every day. Passports have been provided to those who have time.

Dornath Aryal, director-general of the department, told Gorkhapatra that the service recipients have been accustomed to waiting in line since morning as if they were getting MRP passports. "There is no need to queue anymore," he said. It happens when you arrive at the appointed time to get the passport. '

Among the health precautionary measures, those who use only masks are more likely to be in the queue. Some do not even wear masks.

Those who maintain social distance, use sanitizer from time to time, and adopt safety measures are not seen at all. Officials of the department said that this service should not be postponed due to the epidemic as the government has also included the distribution of passports as an essential service.

Three employees of the department have contracted the covid infection. Others have seen health problems. Aryal, the director-general of the department, says that the health problem persists even if the swab test is negative.

As the risk of infection increases, discussions have started in the department about the method to be adopted to continue the passport service. He said that it was necessary to take the help of the police to reduce the crowd.

The Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, and Kathmandu district administrations and district administration offices of each district are distributing electronic passports for Rs 5,000 within a week. He said that those who want to get a passport within two days do not have to come to the department by spending Rs 12,000.

Here's how to apply for an e-passport online

The Passport Department has started distributing e-passports i.e. electronic passports from last November 1. E-passport has been made mandatory by stopping the issuance of machine-readable (MRP) passports.

For this, it is mandatory to book the date and time online. First come, first served.

Click here to fill out the online application and select the application type and passport type. Now if you already have an MRP passport, renew it and if you are applying for a passport for the first time, choose the New option and fill the form.

When choosing a place to submit the form in Nepal, you can choose the Passport Department (DOP) or the District or Designated Area Administration Office, and when applying to the District or Area Administration Office, you have to apply only in the district where you have obtained citizenship or settled.

Only two working days can be availed in the Passport Department in normal condition and in case the details with National Identity Card are met and necessary documents are verified.

Similarly, those who are above 16 years of age and active in Nepal need an active national identity card number. Click here for information on getting National Identity Card Number.

District Authorization Certificate has been made mandatory for those who have a minor identity card.

Only after confirming whether you are active or not by calling the hotline number of the National Identity Card and Registration Department or by sending a message on Viber and WhatsApp, you have to proceed for live enrollment.

Stating that online payment will be made shortly, the department has made arrangements to make payment in cash at present. But keep in mind, if your current passport is more than a year old, you will not be able to get an e-passport.

However, people have to wait in line for the biometric test when taking an electronic passport. Those who enter the department directly from the crowd outside may be asked to clean their hands with sanitizer, but the body may not be free of infection.

Therefore, the employees of the department sitting together in the line are equally likely to be transmitted the virus from the infected service recipients. As per the rules, an electronic passport cannot be issued unless you participate in the biometric test and prove it.

Link:- https://emrtds.nepalpassport.gov.np

Mandatory national identity card number in e-passport, how to get it?

The government has introduced an e-passport (electronic passport) since last Wednesday, replacing machine-readable passport (MRP). The service recipients can apply online for the e-passport which has started as a trial distribution.

There is a provision that the national identity card number must be mentioned while applying from Nepal. The Department of National Identity Card and Registration under the Ministry of Home Affairs is currently collecting the details of citizens in different parts of the country.

Under this, the person who has filled the application form related to the national identity card can get the national identity card number immediately. If the details are not collected at your toll or local level, you can easily go to the district administration office or the designated center and verify the application form / fill up.

Also, if you live in a different place or district, you can go to any of the nearby offices or agencies that are collecting details for the national identity card and fill-up the form.

The government is preparing to provide a biometric card (national identity card) with a national identity within a few months. However, the service recipients who have filled the form now will be able to get the national identity card number immediately.

You can apply for an e-passport online based on the same number.

If the daily quota is exhausted, the application you have filled will not be submitted.

The pressure of applications for e-passport, which is currently being tested, has increased tremendously. However, the passport department has been accepting only 200 applications a day, citing problems with the software.

The department is preparing to introduce an electronic passport from the first week of January 2022 after the distribution of the test.

Only 200 people can apply for e-passport online daily

Only 200 people can apply for the e-passport recently introduced by the government. As the distribution of e-passports is currently being tested and various upgrades have to be made in the distribution system, a quota system has been implemented in the application.

There was a problem in the system on Thursday during the test distribution started by the passport department on Wednesday. Even though the problem has been resolved at present, the department has stated that only 200 people can apply per day.

If the daily quota is exhausted, the application you have filled will not be submitted. While the system is currently being tested, there is a problem with the software due to the high application pressure.

Department spokesman Sharad Raj Arun said, "Currently, the problem has been resolved. But we have implemented a quota system to control the pressure, "he said." Once this service is fully implemented in the coming days, such problems will not arise. "

The department is preparing to introduce an electronic passport from the first week of January 2022 immediately after the distribution of the test.

MRP closed, so take e-passport

The Passport Department has stopped issuing Machine Readable Passport (MRP) since Tuesday, making electronic passports fully operational.

The department has completely discontinued MRP after making electronic passports mandatory. The department had earlier informed that MRP would be issued only to the service recipients who have taken tokens for old machine-readable passports till December 12.

Anyone interested in getting an electronic passport can apply by clicking here. As the national identity card has been made mandatory for the electronic passport, the department has requested to get the national identity card from the concerned district administration office or area administration office.

Currently, the department has started collecting and distributing applications for passports from the Passport Department Office, Tripureshwor, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur District Administration Offices in the Kathmandu Valley.

However, the department has stated that the service will be extended to other districts within a month. An electronic passport will not be issued in case of validity of one year or more.

Link:- https://emrtds.nepalpassport.gov.np 

First e-passport to Satya Mohan Joshi

The government has issued an electronic passport (e-passport) in Nepal by providing the first copy to cultural expert Satya Mohan Joshi.

In a program organized at the assembly hall of the passport department in Tripureshwar on Wednesday, the foreign minister Narayan Khadka distributed the first electronic passport to Joshi.

This third-generation passport has been recognized as safe by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO). Director-General of the Passport Department Dornath Aryal informed that online booking has been arranged for making e-passport since Wednesday.

The department is preparing to introduce an electronic passport from the first week of January 2022, after the distribution of the test.

A few weeks from today, electronic passports will be distributed by the department. After that, electronic passports will be distributed at the state and district level as soon as the formal distribution begins.

National identity card number has been made mandatory for the online booking of e-passport.

There is a mark on the cover of the passport with the new map of Nepal. The department has issued seven types of passports. These include Diplomatic, Special, Temporary, Siemens Record Book, Siamese Record Book (Pages 34 and 66), and Service Passport.

All the details of the passport holder are stored on digital chips connected inside the polycarbonate sheet of the electronic passport. Even if a new passport is issued, in case of expiration of the old MRP passport, the same passport will be recognized as long as it remains valid.

It is believed that electronic passports replacing MRP passports will make it easier for ordinary Nepali citizens to travel the world.

According to the department, after the distribution of electronic passports, the passengers of Nepal will get the facility of international standard transportation. Nepali citizens will get rid of the hassle of sitting in line for hours like Arabela.

Didn't get the National Identity Card number even after filling in the details? Do it

The Department of National Identity Card and Registration is making the distribution of National Identity Card nationwide. However, as it will take some time to distribute the identity card, the national identity card number has been made available at present.

The national identity card made mandatory for e-passport is now being made mandatory in other services as well. In this case, if you have also submitted the details for the national identity card and have not received the national identity card number, the department has started SMS service for that.

For this, you have to go to the message box of the mobile, type N <space> 16 digit application number, and message to 30001. For example, if someone has application number 1234567891234567 then type N 1234567891234567 and message to 30001.

The department has also made arrangements to contact through WhatsApp if the national identity card number is not received even after texting. For that, the citizens of Bagmati and Gandaki will have to go to WhatsApp and send screenshots of their confirmation page, receipt, or response of the message to 9851316034, and the citizens of Lumbini, Karnali, and Far Western states will have to send 9851316035.

At present, National Identity Card Number can be obtained from 77 District Administration Offices, 17 Area Administration Offices, and stations at Narayanhiti Durbar. In addition to this, a data collection campaign is underway in 25 districts and so far personal and biological data collection of about 5.2 million citizens has been completed.

The government is preparing to distribute national identity cards in two months

The government is preparing to distribute national identity cards to the citizens in the next two months. For this, the French company Idemia is about to start the process of printing smart cards.

Earlier, Idemia was also given the responsibility of pilot project of national identity card. Under the project, national identity cards were distributed to 117,000 people.

Engineer Gyaneshwar Bohora of the National Identity Card and Registration Department informed that the department is preparing to distribute identity cards to the persons registered in the national system from next December or January.

According to him, more than 3.5 million details have been collected from different districts so far. He said that the layout and design with QR code features in the new card will be somewhat optimized.

The national identity card will be based on information technology. In addition to the demographic details of the citizen, the face (photo), biographical details of the person including ten fingerprints, iris of two eyes as well as e-signature in the form of electronic signature will also be kept.

Based on this type of national identity card, anybody can verify the identity of the person both online and offline based on the identity card. It is said that some details including fingerprint will be included in the card.

Subash Dhakal, director of the National Identity Card and Registration Department, says that special technology will be used to prevent the details of one person from colliding with another person. This type of system is not possible in today's paper system.

"There is no possibility of cheating as the face of a person will change after a few years," said Dhakal.

What is National Identity Card and how to avail?

To understand the national identity card, it is first necessary to know about the identity cards issued by the state to its citizens. There are two main types of identity cards issued by the government to its citizens. These are Foundation ID and Functional ID.

The Foundation ID, which establishes the identity of the person, is recognized for several services, facilities, and purposes within the state. We can take citizenship as the kind of identity card that is still in existence.

On the other hand, the functional ID is given only for a special purpose. For example, a driving license, PAN card, voter ID card are examples of this type of ID card.

Citizenship has been introduced in Nepal since 2009 as a national identity card. For its accuracy, we have been facing the challenge of verification from the very beginning. Suppose you and I submit our citizenship to a body, there is no reliable mechanism to certify it.

In fact, it is very difficult to identify a person based on citizenship nowadays. To face such challenges and to provide public service facilities to the citizens easily and quickly, the national identity card is being brought.

The upcoming national identity card will be based on information technology. In addition to the demographic details of the person in citizenship, face (photo), ten fingerprints, two eye iris, and other biological details of the person as well as e-signature in the form of electronic signature will be kept.

Based on this type of national identity card, anybody can verify the identity of the person both online and offline based on the identity card. The government plans to include some details including fingerprints in the card.

Subash Dhakal, director of the National Identity Card and Registration Department, says that special technology will be used to prevent the details of one person from colliding with another person. This type of system is not possible in today's paper system.

What is the status of citizenship?

In fact, there are two main types of citizenship today. Along with basic identity, citizenship has also established the political status of the individual.

The government is planning to give immediate continuity to citizenship for political and civic status, even if the identity of the person is maintained through the national identity card.

This will mean the end of the obligation to carry citizenship to identify oneself or for any other purpose like opening a bank account, buying a SIM card.

Not only this, it is designed to include other functional IDs in the national identity card and also to eliminate the hassle of carrying separate identity cards for different purposes.

This will be the national identity card

The national identity card in the implementation phase will have ten digits. However, knowing the number of a person's national identity card, other details of that person cannot be known, so it is said that it will have security features. Director Dhakal informed that the demographic details and biometric details of each person will be centralized in the National Identity Registry (NIR). Demographic details of the person will be kept in the national identity card like in citizenship. Those details will be kept on the chip inside the identity card. In addition, the national identity card, which will also include a digital photo and fingerprint of the person, will also have the details of the citizenship number, date of issue, etc. "There is no possibility of cheating as the face is similar to the current citizenship and the face of the person will change after a few years," says Dhakal.

As envisaged, one can apply for any service facility by verifying one's identity online from home. With the availability of a national identity card and e-payment facility, all government payments can be made online.

In this case, it is expected that you will not have to go to any government office to get some services. This means that the condition of having to be physically present to confirm one's identity will come to an end. Even if you have to go, it will be much easier than now.

Now the hassle of losing, tearing, or destroying citizenship will be removed. Nor does it have to go through a cumbersome process of re-citizenship. Dhakal says that even if the national identity card is lost, it can be prepared in five minutes.

At present, the problem of fraud and embezzlement is very widespread due to a lack of identity. We are hearing about the incidents of taking a loan from a bank, registering a company in one's citizenship. That kind of situation will end.

According to Dhakal, the limit of online transactions can be increased based on the national identity card. "Even if the identity of the person concerned is ensured online, even crores of rupees can be transacted online," he says. This will help reduce both costs and risks in the banking sector. "

This is the basis for obtaining a national identity card

The government has initially planned to distribute national identity cards to people with Nepali citizenship. After that, according to the law, those who are eligible to get Nepali citizenship will get this identity card even if they do not have citizenship.

There is a provision that one should have reached the age of 16 to get citizenship. However, the national identity card is said to be available even to children below that age. However, director Dhakal says that biometric details will be taken only after reaching 16 years of age.

Foreign nationals residing in Nepal for six months or more can also obtain a national identity card. However, even if the card distribution system is the same, the status of the identity card received by a foreigner will be different from that received by a Nepali citizen.

What is personal privacy?

Think about it, where is the copy of your citizenship? Is it possible to get information even if someone has misused it? Of course, the answer to these questions will not seem easy and dear to you.

But the national identity card has a special kind of security feature. The details contained in it remain 'logged' even if one looks at it.

Technology is being developed so that you can get complete information about who, why, and where your details were viewed for one year by logging on to the website.

Bodies such as Land Revenue, Land Reform, Public Service, Registration can see the details of the national identity card, but for that, the person concerned must have given permission to access the application and his details.

"It simply came to our notice then. Otherwise, it will be like a black box, 'says Dhakal. If anyone sees their details on the national identity card, the person concerned can get the information online.

If a person's details are kept, security arrangements have been made so that the national identity card can be verified only if it is found or not, but the person's data will not be provided. This means that mobile SIM cards can be sold by identifying the person based on the card provided as a national identity card. In such a case, there will be no possibility of issuing a SIM card in the name of another.

Even the police will not have access to the data in the national identity card. Dhakal says that the answer can be given only if one asks whether he met a certain person by bringing his fingerprint or not.

This will not only make it easier for them to be aware of the possibility of their details being misused but will also make it possible to file lawsuits following the law on the right to privacy. This can be expected to ensure personal privacy.

Expect to help in national defense as well

At present, even non-citizens are taking citizenship in the Terai and border areas. With the implementation of the national identity card, such risks are expected to be reduced.

"Even if the same person acquires two citizenships, the state is not aware of it," says Director Dhakal.

The national identity card is expected to make the state responsible and accountable and increase public confidence in the state. At present, there is a lot of scams in the services provided by the state for social security. It is expected to save billions of rupees annually as it can be controlled.