Nepalis demand answers over ban
Businessmen, the Nepalese community and its consulate are worried about the government's blanket ban against workers and students from the country and are seeking an explanation.
On June 3 the government announced it would no longer accept student and employment visas from Nepali nationals until further notice. It is believed the policy was in response to an increase in the number of asylum seekers and the political turbulence there.
A partner in the Nepal Maids agency, George Chen, said the policy was out of place.
'With this drastic and discriminatory universal ban, we will have to shut down. Last time I checked, Hong Kong was a free port, a free-trade zone and anybody could come and go. We have civil liberties and the most competitive economy in the world - what happened?'
Mr Chen said he was seeking an appointment with the director of immigration and intended to write to the acting chief executive and the chairman of the Bar Association for advice. 'We have people in Kathmandu in training, waiting to come here - they are not asylum seekers,' he said. 'This is a very draconian way to put a universal ban on legitimate entrants.'
The Overseas Nepali Workers' Union Hong Kong is 'seriously concerned' about the ruling.
Nepal's consul-general, Hem Lal Sharma Bhattarai, said the Immigration Department told him it made the decision after noting the political and economic situation. 'Nobody will be satisfied with this answer,' he said. He did not believe there had been an influx of refugees and said he would follow up with the government to lift the ban.
An Immigration Department spokesman said the department 'regularly reviews its visa policies and will take ... into account ... the political situations of countries and territories concerned in order to devise a visa policy that assists genuine visitors while maintaining effective immigration control'.
Asked if the ban was in response to a rise in the number of asylum seekers, the spokesman said 'all relevant circumstances of an individual country' were taken into account. Tourist visas are allowed.
The same visa policy is in force for Afghanistan, Albania, Cambodia, Cuba, Laos, North Korea and Vietnam.
