KATHMANDU: Seven Nepali students have been stranded in Guangzhou in China due to incomplete and incompetent instructions given by the Health Desk at the Immigration Office of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) to various international airlines.

They were left behind in high and dry while they were about to fly to Kathmandu from China Southern Airlines on Saturday morning.

Health Desk has instructed the international airline that Nepalis returning from different countries must have a certificate of coronavirus test report in English, otherwise no Nepali can be allowed to board a flight.

China has been issuing coronavirus test certificates in Chinese language to most citizens returning from China after the Coronavirus epidemic.

Even though the Chinese language certificate is easily recognized by other countries, Nepal has instructed that it should be in English language.

Six students, who had gone for a one-year internship at various hotels in China’s Hainan province, and one student from Hangzhou arrived in Guangzhou on Saturday to return to Nepal.

After arriving in Guangzhou at midnight on Friday, they managed to reach the Kathmandu flight counter of China Southern Airlines before 6 am. When they turned up at the counter on time, they were stopped saying that they could not fly as per the directive of the Nepal government.

Among the stranded Nepali students are Narayan Ghimire from Dharan, Aka Garjbuja from Chitwan, Sunil Lama from Hetauda, ​​Ram Prasad Acharya from Butwal, Arun Kami from Bardiya, Pratiksha Gurung from Butwal and Anubhav Shrestha from Bhairahawa.