Nepal's new NOC rule for UAE travellers: How Indian expats lost Dh1,400 during trip
Some Indian residents of the UAE have unexpectedly lost more than Dh1,400 each or faced significant travel stress after Nepal began strictly enforcing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) requirement from the Indian embassy for re-entry to the Emirates.
As reported by Khaleej Times, this rule, though not new, has recently been implemented more rigorously due to concerns about human trafficking and tax evasion.
Dubai resident Manu Palerichal, CEO of CLA Emirates, recounted a stressful experience during his Eid break trip to Nepal. 'As soon as we landed in Nepal on Thursday, an immigration officer informed us that we need a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Indian embassy when returning to the UAE,' he told Khaleej Times.
'No one had informed us about this beforehand… fellow travellers weren't aware either and told us to ignore it,' he said.
Enforced due to system abuse
After reaching out to his travel agent, Manu learned that the rule had started being strictly applied to prevent abuses of the system. However, the family had already travelled to Pokhara, nearly 200km from Kathmandu, where the Indian embassy is located.
'We spent two days in Pokhara, anxiously wondering what to do if the embassy was closed on Saturday and Sunday,' Manu said.
'We even came up with alternate plans to return to Dubai in case we couldn't get the document.'
Safeer Mohammed, general manager of Smart Travels, confirmed to Khaleej Times that the rule has existed for a while but is now enforced more tightly. 'Authorities found people misusing the system, and that may have prompted this change,' he explained. 'Instances of human trafficking and tax evasion were discovered and that may have been one of the reasons why the rule is now being enforced strictly.'
He also clarified that travellers heading from Nepal to India won't have any problems, but those returning to the UAE via Nepal 'must have the NOC before travelling.'
Travellers denied boarding, incur losses
Dubai resident Thabseer Ahmed faced financial setbacks of over Dh1,400 after discovering the NOC requirement only at the airport while returning from Nepal. 'We found out about the NOC only at the airport (in Nepal) while heading back from our holiday,' he told Khaleej Times.
His friends flying back to India had no issues, but those heading to the GCC were denied boarding. 'We tried to get to the Indian embassy, but the flight was at 3am on a Sunday and no one was available to help us,' he said.
Thabseer tried to reroute via New Delhi, but it didn't help. 'You have to check out in India, collect your luggage and then check back in. So once I arrived in New Delhi, I had to book a new flight back to the UAE,' he said, adding that a friend from Kuwait lost around Dh2,000, while another from Qatar also faced losses in rebooking.
Embassy process, required documents, and advice
Eventually, Manu returned to Kathmandu with his family and was relieved to find the Indian embassy working through the weekend. 'I did not have to wait much but staff told me that there was a huge rush on Thursday and Friday with people having to wait hours for their documents,' he said.
According to Manu, the documents needed for the NOC included:
Passport-size photo
Copies of passport and UAE residence visa
Immigration stamp
Air ticket
Emirates ID
Application form
Each certificate cost 3,100 Nepali rupees per person, totalling over Dh300 for his four-member family.
He urged others to check travel requirements beforehand. 'Since Nepal is just a short distance away, a lot of Indians from GCC countries plan short trips here,' he warned. 'Travel agents must give clear directives about these new requirements to avoid complications.'
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