24 March 2014
Muscat: Nepalese workers looking for job in Oman must have machine-readable passports (MRPs), Jhabindra Aryal, who has been appointed as the first chargé d'affaires of the Nepal Embassy in Muscat, said.
The move came keeping in mind the approaching deadline set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to complete the process to phase out the non-machine-readable passports globally. The deadline ends on November 24, 2015.
Officials said that this decision will help to relieve the migrant workers of the unnecessary trouble to get new passports after arriving in Oman. "This is one of the reasons the Government of Nepal has been issuing Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) since the last couple of years and has publicly invited everyone to have their MRPs before the deadline," he said.
The Nepal Embassy in Muscat has also appealed to all Nepalese living in the Sultanate of Oman to apply for MRPs as soon as possible if they have already not done so in order to avoid last minute rush as the deadline is approaching soon.
"We have publicly informed all through the media, including the social welfare groups, individuals and HR offices of major companies where a large number of people work," the Chargé d' Affaires said.
"We believe that most of the Nepalese people in this country are aware in this regard and we have been receiving applications regularly. So far, the embassy has dispatched three lots of passport applications processed from here to the Department of Passport, Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu, Nepal," he added.
At the same time, the MRPs received from Kathmandu are being distributed through the embassy to the respective applicants.
The embassy has also distributed some of the remaining MRPs received from the Nepalese Embassy in Riyadh as these applications were processed there before the establishment of the Nepalese Embassy in Muscat.
It has also started rendering consular services to its expatriate workers in Salalah (about 1,000km away from Muscat) after its inception as it accommodates the second largest number of Nepalese in Oman after Muscat and its areas in its vicinity.
"The Nepalese community in Salalah, especially the low-wage earners, appreciate the initiative of the embassy as it is very difficult and costly for them to travel all the way to Muscat for even minor consular services," he said.
Aryal also said that he plans to dispatch embassy's consular team from time to time to Salalah for providing consular services there.
In addition to passports, the Embassy issues visas to the visitors, verifies and endorses employment related documents, and attests documents related to civil status, academic, legal and commercial matters.
With the establishment of the embassy, the Government of Nepal has set standards for hiring manpower from Nepal with minimum wages and several other benefits for workers, which, of course, are in accordance with the Omani labour laws.
Muscat: Nepalese workers looking for job in Oman must have machine-readable passports (MRPs), Jhabindra Aryal, who has been appointed as the first chargé d'affaires of the Nepal Embassy in Muscat, said.
The move came keeping in mind the approaching deadline set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to complete the process to phase out the non-machine-readable passports globally. The deadline ends on November 24, 2015.
Officials said that this decision will help to relieve the migrant workers of the unnecessary trouble to get new passports after arriving in Oman. "This is one of the reasons the Government of Nepal has been issuing Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) since the last couple of years and has publicly invited everyone to have their MRPs before the deadline," he said.
The Nepal Embassy in Muscat has also appealed to all Nepalese living in the Sultanate of Oman to apply for MRPs as soon as possible if they have already not done so in order to avoid last minute rush as the deadline is approaching soon.
"We have publicly informed all through the media, including the social welfare groups, individuals and HR offices of major companies where a large number of people work," the Chargé d' Affaires said.
"We believe that most of the Nepalese people in this country are aware in this regard and we have been receiving applications regularly. So far, the embassy has dispatched three lots of passport applications processed from here to the Department of Passport, Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu, Nepal," he added.
At the same time, the MRPs received from Kathmandu are being distributed through the embassy to the respective applicants.
The embassy has also distributed some of the remaining MRPs received from the Nepalese Embassy in Riyadh as these applications were processed there before the establishment of the Nepalese Embassy in Muscat.
It has also started rendering consular services to its expatriate workers in Salalah (about 1,000km away from Muscat) after its inception as it accommodates the second largest number of Nepalese in Oman after Muscat and its areas in its vicinity.
"The Nepalese community in Salalah, especially the low-wage earners, appreciate the initiative of the embassy as it is very difficult and costly for them to travel all the way to Muscat for even minor consular services," he said.
Aryal also said that he plans to dispatch embassy's consular team from time to time to Salalah for providing consular services there.
In addition to passports, the Embassy issues visas to the visitors, verifies and endorses employment related documents, and attests documents related to civil status, academic, legal and commercial matters.
With the establishment of the embassy, the Government of Nepal has set standards for hiring manpower from Nepal with minimum wages and several other benefits for workers, which, of course, are in accordance with the Omani labour laws.
© Times of Oman 2014
