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Parliament passes NRN bill

The Legislature Parliament has passed the much awaited Non Resident Nepali (NRN) bill on Monday.

The bill defined NRN as those Nepalis living in foreign land for more than two years, either holding Nepali citizenship or foreign citizenship. Earlier, the draft bill had proposed the period of 182 days. However, Nepalis living in SAARC member countries are not entitled to be categorized as NRN.

The new bill has paved way for registration of the organisation in Nepal, which had been one of the major demands of the NRN Association.

The bill has provisioned for issuance of NRN identity cards to those entitled. The card is valid till the expiry of the visa the person holds, not exceeding 10 years, for Nepali nationals living abroad, while Nepalis having foreign citizenship will have to renew the card every two years.

A person would continue to be a NRN even if he stays in Nepal or owns a business here.

Any company in which a NRN has more than 50 percent share can invest in projects or sectors that the government opens for foreign investment.

Presenting the bill at the house, Foreign Minister Sahana Pradhan said the NRN bill has been brought to encourage the Nepali Diaspora for development of the country.

NRN Association had demanded that the bill be passed before its third convention scheduled for October 15-17 in Kathmandu. nepalnews.com ia Aug 13 07