The government’s plan to let foreigners to buy apartment s in Nepal might take some more time to materialise, with government agencies, especially the Home Ministry, showing concerns about security and long-term implications of such a provision for the country.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has raised multiple questions, including whether foreigners could stay in the country forever on ground that they have purchased an apartment here.

The government had announced allowing foreigners — both individuals and companies — to purchase flats and apartment s costing $200,000 and above as a measure to address the woes of the realty sector last year.

The Ministry of Land Reform and Management, which is preparing a working procedure, had sought opinion from various ministries, including the Home Ministry.

A source at the Land Reform Ministry said the Home Ministry is particularly concerned about the demographic impact as Nepal is in between the two most populous countries of the world — China and India. “The Home Ministry has asked us to prepare the working procedures based on the existing legal framework,” the source said.

Nepal has no Act on allowing foreigners to own land here and the Non-Resident Nepalese Act also has not opened the door for foreigners to purchase property here. “We have expressed the concerns due to the fact that we do not have any legal provisions,” said Home Secretary Nabin Ghimire.

Another concern the Home Ministry has raised is whether the children of foreigners purchasing apartment here could enjoy the citizenship rights if they are born on the Nepali soil.

The Home Ministry is also concerned about the validity period of Nepal stay of foreigners purchasing apartment s here. The ministry’s other concerns include the possible involvement of foreigners in criminal activities here. “If the government forces such a person to leave the country, the confusion about the status of the property s/he has purchased here should also be clarified,” a source at the Land Reform Ministry said, adding that the ministry is also concerned about the possibility of foreigners using the provision for money laundering.

Deepak Giri, joint spokesperson for the Land Reform Ministry, said there are issues like whether to allow a single foreign company to purchase the entire block of apartment s or allow people from the same country to occupy the entire colony.

In the initial draft of the working procedure, the Land Reform Ministry has proposed that only the foreigners getting recommendation from the Foreign Ministry would be allowed to purchase apartment s here. The draft has also provisioned that after purchasing the apartment s foreigners could not resell or lease the property for the next five years.

Despite the uncertainty over the introduction of the working procedures for allowing foreigners to purchase apartment s in Nepal, the realty sector is gradually reviving. Revenue collection from land and house registrations increased by 19.43 percent to reach Rs 4.14 billion in 2011-12 compared to Rs 3.47 billion in 2010-11, according to the Department of Land Reforms and Management.

source: The Kathmandu Post,30 Sept 2012