Legal Support
Online System to File Application in Department of Consular Services, Nepal
May 30, 2017Consular Service in Nepal
The Department of Consular Services is a
department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nepal. It mainly provides services
to Nepalese citizens in matters related to abroad. The services include providing
consular and legal consultation, consular attestation, diplomatic visa,
diplomatic exemption, and visa recommendation. In order to carry out these
functions the department also takes help from different Nepalese institutions
situated abroad.[1]
The Department
of Consular Service is established as per the decision of Nepal government made
on 2070/1/20 B.S to reduce the workload of the ministry of foreign affairs and
to provide faster and better consular services.[2]
Consular Service and Migrant Workers
Many Nepalese
have been working as migrant workers in many countries. Some of them are
employed with good facilities and remuneration while many others are facing
different problems. As per the census of 2011 out of total population 19,
21,494(7.3%) were working abroad, today the population of migrant workers
working abroad is estimated to be around 35, 00,000. The data of Department of
Foreign Employment (DoFE) shows that every day around 1200 to 1500 Nepalese
leave for foreign employment obtaining labour permit from DoFE. A recent labour migrantion status report shows
that total of 4,322 Nepalese have died while working abroad from 2008/09 to
2014/15.[3] As many Nepalese are working
as migrant workers and number of people who have died or faced other problems
while working is very high, a need for a mechanism to facilitate and help the
migrant workers and their families was felt which resulted in the establishment
of a section in Department of Consular Services to address it.
The Department
of Consular Services provides various services to the migrant workers and their
families under Consular and Legal Consultation section. The services include:
- Search and Rescue of migrant worker
- Bring back the dead body of migrant worker
- Compensation from abroad
- Queries and problem reporting
Old Provision
Anyone who would like to get help from the department has to submit an application in the Department of Consular Service. The application was only to be filed in the Kathmandu itself where the headquarters of Consular department is situated. It was very difficult to get the follow-up regarding the application as the applicant had to call the Consular Department and/or visit the office in person for the purpose. This process was time consuming and expensive calculating the traveling and lodging expenses for each visit to Kathmandu.
Anyone who would like to get help from the department has to submit an application in the Department of Consular Service. The application was only to be filed in the Kathmandu itself where the headquarters of Consular department is situated. It was very difficult to get the follow-up regarding the application as the applicant had to call the Consular Department and/or visit the office in person for the purpose. This process was time consuming and expensive calculating the traveling and lodging expenses for each visit to Kathmandu.
Online Application System
As the number
of Nepali nationals visiting abroad for job and study has gone up sharply over
the years, the need of effective consular service has also grown equally high. Due
to several difficulties faced by migrant workers and their family to seek
consular help, the Consular department of Nepal has launched an online system
to file the application on 14/10/2073 B.S. The online system is easy to use and
has the mechanism of providing follow-ups online as well. This system has
included online application, to receive compensation and insurance amount,
rescue of the Nepalese who are stranded in foreign country and help to bring
the dead bodies of Nepalese migrants back to Nepal. The online system is
helpful as ordinary people living in various far flung areas of the country do
not need to travel to Kathmandu just to file an application to make a request
for searching or rescuing persons or bringing back home the bodies of those who
died abroad.
The
significant feature of the online system is that it can be operated from
anywhere and the applicants can have their own username and password and they
can check the progress made on their application anytime.
Assisting
Through IEC Materials
Center for
Migration and International Relations (CMIR) took an initiation to develop a
video to aware and facilitate Nepalese migrant workers and their families who
could benefit from the new online system. Pravasi Suchana Sathi is an
initiative of CMIR with the support from Accountability lab, it aims to
promote/ensure the access/right to information of Nepalese migrant workers by
proving understandable, reliable, effective, timely, and process oriented
information. To reach out many migrant workers and their families, CMIR
mobilizes it different layers of network from national or international level.
Rationale of
The Video
The online
system introduced by the department is a new system and is not known to all.
This system requires following certain procedures which might not be easy to
understand and follow to the first time user. The Department of Consular Services
has launched the online system but no guideline to use the services is given. Due
to this, the targeted group even after being informed may not be benefited from
the online system. For any system to work it must be known to the people it
targets. CMIR prioritizes to increase
migrant workers and their families' access to information or government
services through information materials. CMIR has taken initiative through this
video not only to make the online system known to people but also to help them
understand how to use the system. The video provides step wise process to file
the application online which makes the difficult procedure much easier. The
video mostly uses Nepali language making it accessible to everyone and not to
only who understand English. The video also uses pictures and graphics to
explain the process which will make understanding of the process even better
and easier.
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