Nepal is running dangerously low on passport booklets, with the Department of Passport holding only about 55,000 blanks left in stock. Because the department hands out roughly 3,000 passports every single day, this remaining supply is expected to completely run out by mid-July.
To fix the shortage, the government had already started switching over to a new passport system managed by two German companies, Mühlbauer and Veridos. However, this transition was suddenly thrown into chaos due to direct political interference from Prime Minister Balendra Shah.
Under pressure from the Prime Minister, the country's anti-corruption agency filed a lawsuit against 16 government officials and two contracting companies. Furthermore, the Prime Minister's office pressured the department to cancel the German contract entirely and stick with their current French supplier, Idemia.
Despite the political pressure, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials backed the original schedule to prevent the country from running out of passports entirely. The German printing company, Veridos, has formally stated it is ready to begin printing by July 15. The company has already delivered 55,000 blank booklets to Kathmandu and has asked the government for safety assurances for its engineering team.
The launch of the new system is now in its final stages. German technicians are currently traveling to Nepal to link the new technology to international civil aviation networks, and the migration of user data from the old system is nearly finished. Additionally, a court recently released all the accused officials on bail, clearing a major legal hurdle so the passport transition can finally move forward.
Last year in July, the Department of Passports had signed an agreement with two German government companies to purchase 6.4 million passports. Out of the two passport printing packages, Muhlbauer ID Services won a contract worth 1.55 billion rupees, while Veridos secured a contract worth 6.55 billion rupees. Muhlbauer ID Services was awarded the contract to set up the passport system, and Veridos received the contract for printing the passports.
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