KATHMANDU: The government on Monday has decided not to issue on-arrival visas for citizens of five countries worst hit by COVID-19 virus.
This decision will be implemented until the end of March this year in the first phase.
Those countries include China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, and Italy.
The decision to this effect will be implemented from this Friday.
Tourists coming to Nepal from most of the countries receive on-arrival visas at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu.
According to Ishwor Raj Paudel, Chief at the Department of Immigration (DoI), the citizens of the five countries — China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, and Italy — now need to obtain visas from the Nepali missions in the concerned countries.
Those who are coming to visit Nepal have to take visas from the Nepali embassies based in the related countries. It has been arranged that the visitors have to mandatorily produce a medical certificate while applying for a visa.
The coronavirus has spread across the world. The government has formed a high-level coordination committee led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Ishwar Pokharel, after the WHO said that Nepal is at high risk of the new virus.
Similarly, the government has also decided to make preparations including setting up quarantine at the airport to tackle the new virus.
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