On the 18th of Kartik, during the Tihar festival, the Immigration Office in Belhiya, Rupandehi was packed with tourists from third countries. Over 800 tourists came to obtain arrival visas for Nepal, while around 700 others were preparing to depart.
The Immigration Office struggled to handle the overwhelming crowd. Tourists, armed with their passports and documents, were forced to stand in long queues all day. Immigration staff worked relentlessly from the early morning hours. As tourists waited for seven to eight hours, the situation became chaotic, with pushing and shoving.
The crowds grew so uncontrollable that the main door of the Immigration Office was damaged, and the windows were shattered. Since that day, the lines at the Immigration Office have been a regular occurrence, with tourists waiting for up to four or five hours for visa processing or departure clearance. Many service providers such as tour guides, bus operators, hotel staff, and taxi drivers who came to assist the tourists often expressed frustration due to the slow service, resulting in daily outbursts.
According to Narayan Prasad Pandey, the head of the Belhiya Immigration Office, the issue stems from a lack of sufficient staff to manage the large number of tourists. When too many tourists arrive simultaneously, they have no choice but to wait in line for extended periods. “The office does not have enough manpower to handle such a large number of tourists,” says Pandey.
“Tourist numbers arriving through the Sunauli/Belhiya border have increased, but we are unable to manage them with our current staffing levels.” At times, more than 1,500 tourists arrive in a single day, yet the office has only five employees, including the chief. Each staff member often works up to 14 hours a day, serving tourists at four different desks. Once all necessary procedures are completed, a tourist is typically processed for a visa in around one minute, and departure processing takes approximately half a minute.
“If we had just three more staff members, we could resolve this problem quickly,” says Pandey. “We have been requesting additional staff from both the department and the ministry.” This Immigration Office ranks as the second busiest in Nepal, after Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, when it comes to handling tourist arrivals. Before the pandemic, the number of tourists using the Sunauli/Belhiya border exceeded 300,000 annually. During COVID-19, arrivals dropped significantly, but numbers have steadily risen since then.
By November 2024, over 83,000 tourists had arrived at this border, and approximately 82,000 had departed. To boost tourism numbers, local, provincial, and federal governments have launched various programs for tourism development and promotion, spending millions in the process. Additionally, national-level tourism campaigns have been organized by the Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Board. However, these initiatives have yet to address the challenges faced by the Belhiya Immigration Office.
“Tourists who had placed orders for dinner at 6 p.m. often end up going to bed hungry by 10 p.m. due to the delays at the Immigration Office,” shares Asha Gurung, the owner of Hotel Landmark, located about 1.5 kilometers from the Immigration Office. “We have even had to bring tea and snacks to tourists waiting in line for hours.”
Most tourists passing through the Bhairahawa border are from Buddhist-majority countries, mainly visiting Lumbini. After touring important Buddhist sites in India such as Bodh Gaya, Kushinagar, Sarnath, and Sarabastī, they continue their journey to Lumbini and other surrounding Buddhist sites. Tourists usually plan to spend about an hour at the Immigration Office, but delays often cause them to rush through their itinerary. This results in many tourists cutting short their visits to other important places like Tilaurakot in Kapilvastu, Ramgram in Nawalparasi, and Devdaha.
“By September, 75% of our hotel bookings are from Buddhist tourists,” says Gurung, whose hotel is fully booked with reservations for Buddhist tourists in the coming month. “Due to delays at the Immigration Office, meals prepared for tourists often go to waste, and they have to sleep on an empty stomach. This situation is starting to hurt Nepal’s tourism industry.”
The problems are not only confined to the Immigration Office but extend to the surrounding areas. Roads that were damaged during construction remain in poor condition, with dust and potholes bothering tourists.
“The difficulties faced by tourists at the border make Nepal look bad,” comments Sagar Adhikari, the former president of the Nepal Tour and Travels Association in Lumbini, and a local tourism entrepreneur. “There has been no real effort to create a welcoming environment for tourists as they enter Nepal.”
