Nepal: Whether Tibetan refugees or their children are able to acquire Nepali citizenship; if so, how it may be acquired; if not, the situation of Tibetan refugees who are not citizens
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 December 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | NPL30747.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Nepal: Whether Tibetan refugees or their children are able to acquire Nepali citizenship; if so, how it may be acquired; if not, the situation of Tibetan refugees who are not citizens, 1 December 1998, NPL30747.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab1e1e.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
For information regarding the eligibility of Tibetan refugees or their children to obtain Nepali citizenship, please consult NPL30525.E of 23 November 1998 and CHN30745.E of 2 December 1998.
With respect to the Tibetan refugee population in Nepal, the 1997 Country Report for Nepal from the U.S. Committee for Refugees states:
Most of the 18,000 Tibetan refugees in Nepal are the children and grandchildren of Tibetan refugees who fled to Nepal following China's 1959 occupation of Tibet. These refugees have integrated well in Nepal's economy. In the 1990s, hundreds of Tibetan refugees, including many Buddhist monks and nuns escaping religious persecution, fled to Nepal. Almost all continued on to India, where more than 110,000 other Tibetan refugees, including the Dalai Lama, live. In 1997, UNHCR reported that some 2,200 Tibetans transited through Nepal to India.
During the dangerous journey from Tibet to Nepal over the Himalaya Mountains, some refugees have frozen to death. Many Tibetans flee during the perilous winter months, when there are fewer border patrols.
Some Nepalese security guards demand bribes of refugees caught at the border, threatening to hand them over to Chinese authorities. In 1997, Nepalese border guards returned as many as 50 Tibetans to China. In response to a December 1997 USCR letter, the Nepalese embassy in Washington, D.C. denied reports of such returns.
According to the Website of the Government of Tibet in Exile, the Tibetan refugee community in Nepal has schools, economic co-operatives, Primary Health Care Centers and religious establishments established by the communities (1996). The operations of the Government of Tibet in Exile in Nepal also include the administration of reception centres for new refugees.
New refugees from Tibet usually arrive in Nepal first, from where they travel via New Delhi to Dharamsala in India, the primary destination for all the recent arrivals from Tibet. The Office of the Reception Centers thus has branch offices in Kathmandu, New Delhi and Dharamsala. The branches provide free meals, lodging facilities and medical care as well as travel expenses for onward journeys for the newly arrived refugees. Although the provision of care is intended for up to one month only, more often than not the refugees stay longer as they have no family or friends to help and take care of them.
The Kathmandu Reception Center is jointly supported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Central Tibetan Administration. The office of UNHCR in Nepal provides financial support of Nepalese Rs 2250 per refugee; in the case of a family the head of the family gets NRs 2250 and the remaining family members are given NRs 900 each. This financial support is to meet the travelling expenses from Kathmandu to Dharamsala or to other centers in India.(ibid.)
Specific information concerning the rights of Nepali citizenship that are not extended to Tibetans in Nepal could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Government of Tibet in Exile. 1996. "Tibetan Refugee Community - Integrated Development Plan." [Internet] <http://www.tibet.com/Govt/idp.html> [Accessed 22 Dec. 1998]
U.S. Committee for Refugees. 1997. "Country Report - India." [Internet] <http://www.refugees.org/world/countryrpt/scasia/nepal.htm> [Accessed 21 Dec. 1998]
Additional Sources Consulted
Journal of Refugee Studies [Oxford]. Quarterly. 1995-1998.
International Journal of Refugee Law [Geneva]. 1995-1998.
Electronic Sources: IRB Databases, Internet, REFWORLD, World News Connection (WNC).
