By Usha Wagle Gautam

Nepal’s embassy has urged all Nepalese expats in Qatar with hand-written passports to apply urgently for Machine Readable Passports (MRP). The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had set November 24, 2015 as the deadline for the elimination of handwritten passports.
Nepal Embassy Second Secretary Nitash Sapkota said workers can still apply for MRPs at the embassy. He said those staying in the country can receive temporary passports from the embassy, which will help them renew their residency permits. If someone isn’t able to make it to the embassy in person, they can also courier in the required documents. The embassy, he said, can be reached at 4467-5681 or 4468-5683 for further information.
Those with invalid passports wanting to travel back home, Sapkota said, must travel directly to Nepal and not get transit tickets.
Even though people with valid hand-written passports have not had problems with their transit flights to Nepal, he said, the embassy cannot guarantee that they will not face any issues while in transit and so advised them to also opt for direct flights to the country.
Sapkota also requested companies in Qatar to ensure their workers get MRPs.
Those applying for MRPs would need to bring their original Nepalese citizenship certificate, its copy, original current passport and its copy, Qatari ID and its copy to the embassy. The fee for the new passport is QR300. Further information is available on the embassy’s website at www.nembdoha.com