Nepal struggles with Citizenship, ID infrastructure

Getting Nepali citizenship is a tough call (BBC)

Sharad Bheswakar, top cricketer and sporting icon in Nepal, is not actually a Nepali. At least officially, he is not a citizen of the country he calls home.

He was born and raised in Nepal and plays for the national team. He has an Indian father and a Nepali mother, so getting citizenship should not be a problem according to the law of the land.

But his efforts to acquire Nepali citizenship so far have been futile.

“It’s been almost eight to nine years that I’ve been trying to get my citizenship. I’m still facing problems. It’s really frustrating at times,” he says.

A few years ago, he was given a travel document as a special concession so he could play in matches abroad.

Biometric solutions could help in the implementation of what comes out of a political process but they can’t substitute for the process.

Nepal Preparing for Biometric National ID Card

They have a cool flag, too.

Source: CIA World Factbook – Nepal

The report recommends polycarbonated cards for the NID and suggests improving the quality of finger prints that the Election Commission has collected, noting that the prints are of low quality and do not meet the standard for biometric ID cards. An NID card is estimated to cost six to eight dollars.

“After the detailed project report, the consultant is preparing bid documents for the project,” Dahal said.

He anticipated that this process will take a long time to complete.