Authorities in Nepal have given workers from China — found at a Chinese-funded meat processing facility while holding tourist visas — a fixed window to either secure the appropriate work authorisation or depart the country. Deportation proceedings have been initiated against nationals of China who were found at the facility carrying out work that fell outside the terms of their business visas, according to an official from Nepal's Department of Immigration.
On 23 September, deportation proceedings against 88 Chinese nationals were set in motion by the Department of Immigration, following findings that those individuals had breached the terms attached to their business visas. Eighty-eight nationals of China, each holding a business visa tied to different companies than the one where they were actually found working, face removal from Nepal after immigration authorities cancelled those visas and levied financial penalties in line with the country's applicable regulations.
A further 329 nationals from China were found by immigration authorities to have entered Nepal under tourist visa arrangements while carrying out work at the same construction site. Immigration officials noted that an informal approach from the Chinese Embassy — pointing to the project's investment scale and the genuine character of the industrial undertaking — prompted authorities to extend an option for tourist visa holders to either adjust their visa status or depart Nepal.
Ziyan Foods Private Limited — a Sindhuli district facility operating out of Sahan, within Marini Rural Municipality — had taken on those nationals as part of its Nepal Heat-Processed Buffalo Meat Export to China Project, a venture backed by Chengdu Tian Food Limited through a shared financial arrangement. Officials described the venture as one of the largest investments from China in Nepal and potentially the country's most substantial commitment in the agricultural sector, with NPR 20 billion pledged toward the project.
Ram Chandra Tiwari, Director General of the Department of Immigration, noted that a pathway had been established for Chinese nationals who had entered on tourist visas while working on the project — allowing them either to obtain labour permits or to complete the relevant procedures and depart within a window of 20 days to one month — and he further stated that the inspection had found those individuals to be engaged in legitimate work rather than any unlawful activity.
A separate immigration official noted that the embassy representing China had also conveyed, through indirect channels, a request that authorities show some leniency toward its nationals employed at the meat processing facility, even though those workers held tourist visas rather than work authorisation. The Embassy had characterised the facility as a legitimate business operation, with the foreign nationals present there on terms consistent with the project's needs, while an official recounted that Embassy representatives had separately urged authorities to treat other undocumented workers as they saw fit, yet to exercise discretion regarding this particular workforce given the scale of the investment involved.
Deportations were being pursued in fraud-related cases, a spokesperson explained, while workers facing other circumstances were being given an opportunity to bring their documentation into compliance or depart the country voluntarily — an approach the authorities described as a balanced one. Removal proceedings have been initiated against 88 individuals whose conduct during their stay on business visas was found to have breached the conditions attached to those permits.
Deportation proceedings move forward only after the individuals hand over their flight documentation and settle the required financial penalties. An immigration official stated that a three-year ban on entering Nepal had been placed on the individuals in question.
Under Nepal's framework for business immigration, foreign nationals who hold a licence to invest in commercial or industrial ventures within the country — along with officially designated representatives of such enterprises — are eligible to receive a business visa once the relevant authorities have provided their endorsement. Overseas nationals who source Nepal-made products destined for export can apply for a business visa under this arrangement.
Under the Immigration Rules of 1994, overseas nationals travelling on business visas are bound to conduct their stay in Nepal strictly within the scope of activities for which that visa category was granted. Holders of these visas are restricted to the purposes for which the travel document was granted, with work, labour, and unrelated pursuits falling outside what is permitted.
The department issued a reminder to all visa holders that their stay must remain within the scope of activities their visa type allows, following the reported breach of visa conditions by a group of Chinese nationals. Businesses, firms, and other employers were put on notice that hiring overseas workers without the correct visas and required authorisations would not be permitted. The department's notice stated that foreign nationals found to have violated immigration laws or related provisions stand to face prosecution.
