Nepal's Department of Immigration has launched a two-track enforcement action against 417 Chinese nationals found working illegally at a Chinese-funded buffalo meat processing plant in Sindhuli district — deporting 88 who violated business visa conditions while giving 329 tourist-visa holders between 20 days and one month to either obtain proper work permits or leave the country voluntarily.

The Plant at the Centre of the Dispute

The workers were employed at Ziyan Foods Private Limited, which is developing the Nepal Heat-Processed Buffalo Meat Export to China Project at Sahan in Marini Rural Municipality of Sindhuli district. The project is a financial partnership between Ziyan Foods and Chengdu Tian Food Limited of China.

According to immigration officials, the project is among the largest Chinese investments in Nepal and is potentially the country's single largest investment in the agricultural sector, carrying a promised outlay of NPR 20 billion. The scale of the investment appears to have directly shaped how authorities calibrated their response.

Two Categories, Two Outcomes

The Department of Immigration announced on 23 September that it had initiated deportation proceedings against 88 Chinese nationals who had entered Nepal on business visas issued in connection with other companies but were found working at the Ziyan Foods project — a direct breach of the conditions attached to those visas. Their visas were cancelled, fines were imposed under Nepal's immigration laws, and they have been barred from re-entering Nepal for three years.

'Once they submit their air tickets and pay their fines, they are deported. They have been barred from entering Nepal for three years,' a senior immigration official confirmed.

A separate group of 329 Chinese nationals — also found working at the same plant but holding tourist visas — has been treated differently. Authorities have given them a window to legalise their status or depart without the same punitive consequences applied to the business-visa violators.

Chinese Embassy Sought Flexibility

The differentiated approach reportedly emerged, in part, after the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu made an informal request for leniency, citing the genuine industrial nature of the project and the scale of the investment involved.

'You may take action against other illegal workers as you see fit, but given the scale of this major investment, please show some flexibility,' an immigration official said, characterising the position conveyed by Chinese Embassy representatives.

Ram Chandra Tiwari, Director General of the Department of Immigration, defended the dual approach. 'In the case of the Chinese nationals who were working in the project and arrived in Nepal on tourist visas, we have created an environment in which they can obtain labour permits or complete the required procedures and leave within the stipulated period of 20 days to one month,' he said. 'During our inspection, we found that these people were not here to engage in wrongdoing or theft; they were genuinely working,' Tiwari added.

Nepal's Immigration Rules and the Legal Framework

Under Nepal's Immigration Rules, 1994, business visas are available to foreign nationals licensed to invest in commercial or industrial ventures, their authorised representatives, and foreign buyers of Nepali-produced export goods. Critically, business visas explicitly prohibit employment, labour, or activities unrelated to the stated purpose of the visa.

Tourist visas carry even stricter restrictions on work. The department has since issued a public advisory urging all foreign nationals to confine their activities to those permitted under their visa category, and has warned industries and employers against engaging workers without the appropriate visa and regulatory approvals.

Broader Implications for Foreign Labour in Nepal

This is not an isolated incident. Nepal has seen a rising number of foreign nationals — particularly from China — entering on tourist or business visas and taking up employment, a pattern that has strained immigration enforcement capacity. The Ziyan Foods case is notable for its scale and for the diplomatic dimension introduced by the Chinese Embassy's informal intervention.

Critics argue that the flexible treatment of tourist-visa holders, however pragmatic, risks setting a precedent that large investments can soften immigration enforcement — a concern that Tiwari's department will need to address as Nepal continues to court foreign capital. How authorities handle the regularisation window over the coming weeks will signal how firmly Kathmandu intends to hold the line.