Proposal on Immigration Bill, 2076 BS approved

A meeting of the National Assembly today unanimously approved the proposal seeking consideration on the Immigration Bill, 2076 BS.

Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa had presented the proposal in this connection.

Taking part in the discussions on the proposal, lawmaker Komal Oli suggested revising the old law by incorporating some timely provisions.

Lawmaker Prakash Pantha said why the Immigration Act, 2049 BS had to be annulled has not been mentioned in the bill and urged the Assembly to think over whether the bill will impact the foreign tourist arrivals as the penalty has been increased in the bill.

Ram Narayan Bidari said a sense of despondency has been seen among the people due to the trend of what he called the Executive formulating 80 per cent laws while the parliament enacting only 20 per cent of the laws. He accused that laws were being made which had loopholes abetting bribery and corruption. Bidari also sought the rationale for introducing the Immigration Bill.

Anita Devkota said some topics related to the impact of retaining immigration under the federal government would have on the province and local levels have been missed out in the bill.

Dr Bimala Poudel said the topic of regulating the number of foreigners who enter the country on tourist visa for a term of three months but end up staying as the consultants in consultancies should be addressed well in the bill.

Replying to queries raised by lawmakers during the discussions, Home Minister Thapa said the bill has been brought to manage the immigration system as 2.5 million people entered and exited the country annually.

"The bill has been brought in a revised form as the tourism sector played a key role for the development and prosperity of the country. I believe, the bill would be enriched after clause-wise deliberations in the parliament," he said.