Portugal- For the first time, a Nepali embassy has been established in the European country of Portugal. A team of staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has started providing services after the establishment of the embassy in the capital city, Lisbon.
The embassy has begun providing services by operating a temporary office in Alcântara, Lisbon. The Nepali embassy in Lisbon, in collaboration with the Nepali embassy in France, has started offering consular services related to passport issuance and document certification through a mobile service.
The mobile service, which started on Friday, has begun providing document certification services, including police character certificates (police reports) for about 200 documents. During the camp, the embassy will provide consular services for document certifications, such as police character certificates, relationship certification, birth registration, marriage registration, and more, excluding official notarized certificates.
Additionally, the embassy will distribute ready passports to applicants who had previously applied for electronic passports at earlier mobile camps, and will collect biometric data from applicants whose passports could not be prepared for various reasons.
To make it easier for Nepali citizens facing document certification issues, the Nepali embassy in Lisbon has started offering essential services related to passport issuance and other document certifications through the mobile service. Acting Ambassador Ram Babu Nepal shared this information . He requested the Nepali community in Portugal to be patient, as full services will be provided gradually in the near future.
“We have started providing services after establishing the embassy in Lisbon. Currently, we are operating a temporary office,” said Nepal. “We are searching for a building for the embassy’s permanent office and the residence of the staff. Being a new embassy, we are also focusing on internal preparations and management.”
The newly appointed Nepali Ambassador to Portugal, Prakash Mani Poudel, is expected to arrive in Portugal soon, after which the embassy will begin offering all services, as informed by Acting Ambassador Nepal. According to him, since the consular services have started, there has been a rush at the embassy due to the demand for police character certificates and other document certifications.
The embassy will provide services for document certifications, including police character certificates, birth registration, relationship certification, marriage registration, and other document certifications, all of which have been certified by the Consular Services Department in Kathmandu. Staff members, including Deputy Head of Mission Sita Basnet from the Nepali Embassy in France and Third Secretary Anil Rana from the Nepali Embassy in Lisbon, have been assigned to the mobile service. The embassy will continue offering the mobile service until February 26 (14th Fagun) and will then begin its regular service provision.
Nepali citizens in Portugal are excited after the long-awaited establishment of the embassy. The community, which had faced difficulties in getting passports and other documents due to the absence of an embassy, is relieved now that the embassy has been established.
The establishment of the embassy has ended the need to travel to other countries, such as Spain and France, to get documents certified or to apply for a passport. Although the exact number of Nepali citizens in Portugal is not known, the embassy estimates the population to be around 60,000.
Previously, teams from the Nepali embassy in France and the Passport Department in Kathmandu would visit Portugal regularly to provide mobile services to the Nepali community. Earlier, Shail Nepal, who had been nominated as the ambassador to Portugal, was recalled without ever coming to Portugal.
With Nepal being recalled, the establishment of the embassy was delayed for some time. However, he has now been appointed as the Ambassador to Spain, and has taken on the responsibilities. In July, the Nepalese government decided to recommend the appointment of Prakash Mani Poudel, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the Nepali Ambassador to Portugal, and President Ramchandra Paudel appointed him in December.
The establishment of the Nepali embassy in Portugal was the result of long-standing efforts by the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) Portugal, various Nepali associations, social activists, and the Nepali community in Portugal, who had conducted several campaigns and pressure programs for this cause.
