Kathmandu, November 22 — The government has chosen to purchase approximately 700,000 passports from 'IN Smart Identity France SAS', ...
Kathmandu, November 22 — The government has chosen to purchase approximately 700,000 passports from 'IN Smart Identity France SAS', formerly called IDEMIA Identity and Security France SAS, to address the expected shortage from December until fresh shipments are received. This choice was made during a Cabinet meeting held on Friday.
A French supplier has been supplying machine-readable passports (MRPs) and e-passports (with biometric data) to Nepal since 2010, continuing until mid-2025.
The 'IN Group' has recently acquired IDEMIA.
A government spokesperson and Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Jagadish Kharel, stated that the Cabinet has approved the Passport Department to acquire 700,000 electronic passports from IN Group via a modification order.
Due to the expiration of the agreement with IDEMIA, which has been supplying biometric passports to Nepal since November 2021, at the end of December, and with two German firms set to begin delivering passports only after March, the government is experiencing a shortage. The Department of Passports currently has fewer than 160,000 regular passports in stock, which will suffice only until December.
The latest batch of passports, according to the new agreement with IN Smart Identity, is expected to arrive within three weeks, as stated by the department in a notice following the contract signing on Friday. This will ensure the department has sufficient passport stock to meet demand from December to March until the two German companies—Veridos GmbH and Muehlbauer ID Service Gmb—start their supply.
With a growing shortage of passports, the department has greatly cut down the number of daily applications it processes to 1,000—compared to the usual 6,000. "The daily application limit will slowly rise," said an official from the department.
The department will also provide staff to ensure that citizens receive services without any inconvenience.
Similarly, the department will begin transmitting passport copies to Nepali embassies overseas within two weeks, and applications from district and area administration offices will also be handled efficiently, according to the department's announcement.
In Smart Identity will charge $10.13 per passport copy, a company representative told the Post. "We have accepted the request from the Nepalese government and, because of our one-and-a-half-decade presence here, we have decided to provide passports during this challenging period."
In addition to the passport agreement, IN Smart Identity will also replace 20 enrollment systems that were damaged during the Gen Z movement and compensate for an additional 56,000 passports that were destroyed, the representative said to the Post.
Prime Minister Suhsila Karki directly handled discussions with departing French and incoming German companies to obtain passports, ensuring that there would be no shortages affecting the parliamentary elections set for March 5.
A statement released by the prime minister's private secretariat stated, 'Thanks to the special efforts of Prime Minister Karki, the passport issue has been resolved.' 'By signing an agreement to acquire 700,000 new electronic passports from the previous French company at the same cost—without any rise in price—the situation where applicants were facing endless waits has now concluded.'
"Previously, because of the shortage of stock and the inability to secure an alternative supply, the Department of Passports restricted distribution to just one thousand passports daily. This caused major problems for the public," states the statement.
During this time, Prime Minister Karki also met with and discussed matters with the German ambassador and representatives from the relevant company, according to the statement.
Veridos, a security printing firm supported by the German government that has been tasked with providing Nepal with advanced electronic MRTDs, is legally obligated to start deliveries within 240 days from the date the contract was signed, setting the deadline for March 29, 2026.
Nevertheless, due to the approaching scarcity, the company has decided to start delivering earlier than planned.
A Veridos local representative informed the Post that the company's Vice President, Fabiolla Bellersheim, traveled to Kathmandu between November 16 and 18 for a set of top-level meetings. Additionally, the CEO of IDEMIA, Antoine Grenier, also visited Kathmandu and engaged in discussions with Prime Minister Karki.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the passport department were also engaging in talks with Veridos, concentrating on backup plans for a temporary solution for passports if IN Smart Identity and the passport department failed to come to an agreement.
As per a person involved in the discussions, Veridos "objectively recommended" the passport office to acquire emergency passports from IN Smart Identity, referring to it as the sole reasonable and technically viable choice.
As IN Smart Identity owns and manages the current system and personalization infrastructure," the source stated, "it would be almost impossible for a new vendor to incorporate its passports into another company's system at short notice.
High-ranking officials from the passport department have also voiced worries regarding IN Smart Identity's collaboration during the shift to the new system. "We are worried about IN Smart Identity's intentions during this transition period, as any deliberate delay in data integration could cause delays in the project's implementation," a senior official stated.
Considering IN Smart Identity's challenging stance in talks about emergency passports, it's hard to dismiss efforts to make the transition harder for the new vendor. Nevertheless, the passport department has the ability to implement legal and financial actions to avoid any interruptions.
With emergency passport applications now guaranteed, the DoP's main concern is addressing existing backlogs and enabling citizens to receive new passports without additional delays. Officials mention that the emphasis is also moving from handling the crisis to getting ready for the timely implementation of the new system in spring 2026. The German suppliers are set to launch their improved systems in March 2026.
Officials from the passport department showed confidence in the transition, highlighting that following over a decade of working with the French company, Nepal is now stepping into a "new era" with German firms known for their technical expertise. "We anticipate this German partnership will signify a new phase in Nepal's passport supply chain," said one official.
We finalized the contract with IN Smart Identity on Friday," Tirtha Raj Aryal, the director general of the passport department, said to the Post. "We believe the current supply will suffice until May. Prior to that, we plan to transition the system, after which German companies will begin issuing the passports.
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