Procedure about Visit-Visa for women under 40 not amended yet: MoHA

Kathmandu: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) has clarified that no change was made in the Department of Immigration's existing procedure about the visit visa for the women under 40 travelling abroad.    

The Ministry said that its attention has been drawn towards the widespread publicity in various social media regarding the government making it compulsory for the women under 40 to produce approval from their local ward to travel abroad on visit-visa and denounced that there has not been any concrete decision on the matter till date.    
Women under 40 who opt for foreign employment are often found at the receiving end of abuses of various sorts as well as trafficking. "The new move is proposed to ensure protection to them from such abuses and trafficking although it has not been decided yet," said the Ministry in a press statement released Thursday.    
According to the Ministry, they were discussing the matter considering the rise on the cases of misuse of visit visa-under which women under 40 were being trafficked to labour destinations under the pretext of visit and were subjected to domestic violence and exploitation.    
"But there has not been any decision made regarding obtaining permission from the local unit for the women under 40 to travel abroad on visit-visa as publicized in the social media," read the statement.    
Likewise, the Department of Immigration, issuing a press statement here today, said that its attention has also been drawn towards the disinformation regarding making it compulsory for the women under 40 who have no relatives in the destination countries, especially African countries and Gulf Countries, for the first time on visit-visa should procure recommendation from the local authority and letter of approval from their families.    
The Department said that the Internal Investigation Task Force had floated the matter but there has not been any decision made on this matter yet. Hence, the Department urged one and all not to go by the disinformation doing rounds in the social media.    
Furthermore, the Department has ensured that while making decisions on such matters it will take into account the constitution-enshrined rights, global practices, practicality of the rules and opinion of the public on the matters among others.    
The Department has also assured that nobody's freedom of movement and other fundamental rights would be infringed by any decisions to be taken on the matter in future.