Nepal launches e-passport service for the first time, replaces machine-readable passports

For the very first time ever, Nepal has started issuing e-passports from Wednesday onwards. According to a news release from the Department of Passport, Nepali Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka launched the e-passport personalization facility at the department and passed over the nation's first e-passport to a 102-year-old historian, Satya Mohan Joshi. As per The Kathmandu Post, Satya Mohan Joshi received the passport during the inauguration celebration which was held at the new facility in Tripureshwar, Kathmandu.  

The website further reported that passports were previously granted at the department's old Narayanhiti office. Further, these e-passports will replace machine-readable passports, which were adopted in the year 2010 that had interchanged Nepal's decades-old handwritten passports.  

The E-passport will be fully functional by January 2022

Sharad Raj Aran, a spokesperson for the Department of Passport informed the Xinhua website that since the mechanism is still in the testing stage, only a limited number of e-passports would be granted for a few days. As per the press release, the department has planned to issue e-passports in a comprehensive way within three weeks. District Administration Offices as well as other departments would approve issuing passports in the various parts of the nation from December 2021, while Nepali diplomatic missions abroad will begin granting e-passports in January next year, the Xinhua website reported.  

Aran even stated that until the essential infrastructure for e-passports is in place, all departments will continue to provide machine-readable passports alongside e-passports. "We plan to fully go into the e-passport regime by January end," citing the spokesperson, Xinhua reported. 

The new biometric e-passports will be available in different colours

Furthermore, as per the Nepal-based 'The Kathmandu Post', the new biometric e-passports will be available in different colours, as revealed by the department. The existing green cover of regular passports will be replaced by a chocolate-brown covering. Diplomatic passports would be crimson-red, while, official passports would be navy blue, and peacekeeper passports will be coloured in tiger-orange. Temporary passports would be chocolate-brown, and seaman's record books would be slate-brown. A hot foil stamping of the national coat-of-arms is required on the front sheet of all passport booklets. 

Meanwhile, one joint secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the new passport will technically be one of the best, most dependable, secure, safe and hassle-free for travelers, The Kathmandu Post reported.  

What is an e-passport?

In addition to this, an e-passport contains an electronic microprocessor chip which in incorporated in it. It provides biometric information about a person that verifies the passport bearer's identification. It makes use of contactless smart card technologies, which include a microprocessor chip as well as an antenna for both energy and communication. This chip can be found on the passport's front or rear cover, as well as the centre page. The information about the passport bearer is displayed on the data page of the passport, which is also stored on the chip. 

(Image: Shutterstock/ Representative Image)