At the request of the Nepal government, 10 Nepali nationals living in Iran will be evacuated by Indian chartered flights between Saturday evening and Sunday morning, along with Indian and Sri Lankan citizens, as the war between Israel and Iran rages on.

Of the 16 Nepalis living and working in Iran, five who have been languishing in local jails are unable to return, said Lok Bahadur Chettri, head of the publicity division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Nepali Embassy in Doha, Qatar that is also accredited to look after Iran, sent the copies of travel documents to the five Nepali nationals currently in Iranian jails but three of them have apparently no proof of Nepali citizenship.

In the case of undocumented individuals, the government or the embassy provides travel documents but the arrangement is difficult for those in jail. But the Nepali mission in Qatar is trying to free them from Iranian jails, said Chettri.

Of the other 11 Nepali nationals, one has declined to return but 10 are coming by chartered flight arranged by the government of India, said Chettri.

“Our people will come home when India starts evacuating its citizens,” he added.

Earlier on Saturday, Minister for Foreign Affairs Arzu Rana Deuba stated that the government of India had expressed its readiness to evacuate Nepalis stranded in Iran, following a request by the government of Nepal.

Deuba requested the Indian government, through Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava, to include Nepalis currently in Iran while evacuating Indian citizens.

“There are a small number of Nepali nationals in Iran. I requested the Indian government to help evacuate our people while evacuating their own,” said Deuba.

To facilitate the evacuation, Minister Deuba also instructed Nepal’s Ambassador to India, Shankar Sharma, to coordinate with relevant Indian authorities.

Minister Rana also thanked her India counterpart, S Jaishankar, in a post on the social media platform X.

“Thank you @DrSJaishankar for India’s swift assistance in helping to evacuate Nepali nationals from Iran,” Rana wrote on Saturday evening. “India’s support in Nepal’s evacuation efforts is a reflection of strength of Nepal-India ties.”

Following Nepal’s appeal, the Indian Embassy in Tehran agreed to help and both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu and the Indian mission have instructed the stranded Nepalis to contact Indian officials in Tehran.

The Indian mission has also issued a notice inviting not only Nepalis but Sri Lankan nationals in Iran to establish contact.

“On request of the governments of Nepal and Sri Lanka, the Indian Embassy’s evacuation efforts in Iran will also cover citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka,” the Embassy of India in Iran said in a Post on X on Saturday. “The citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka may urgently reach out to the embassy, either on the Telegram channel or over the emergency contact numbers. +989010144557; +989128109115; +989128109109.”

Separately, by Saturday evening, only 741 Nepali nationals had registered their names on a webpage set up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Moreover, only 30 people have expressed their interest in returning, according to Chettri.

A high-level meeting on Friday had formed a four-member rapid response team to provide suggestions to the government of Nepal on how to evacuate Nepali nationals from Israel. The team comprises joint-secretaries from the foreign, home, labour and tourism ministries.

The team will start its work on Sunday and draw up an evacuation plan, said Chettri. There are very few options before the government to bring back the Nepalis from Israel with air routes and airports across the Middle East shut down. The only alternative at the moment is using land routes. That too is fraught with challenges, according to Nepali Ambassador to Israel Dhan Prasad Pandit.

First, there is no provision for on-arrival visas for Nepalis in either Jordan or Egypt. Also, due to the visa pressure on both countries, it is difficult for Nepalis to easily obtain a visa through the regular process.

“Jordan has stated that, for the time being, it will grant on-arrival visas only to those holding US or Schengen visas. However, very few Nepalis hold such visas,” Pandit said. In Egypt, even diplomats are required to get a visa before entry, he added.

The route through Jordan is accessible for Nepalis. However, obtaining a Jordanian visa through the regular process requires the presentation of complete travel details, flight tickets, and hotel bookings.

There is another route via Cyprus, which Nepali officials are also exploring as an alternative. Pandit also spoke with the Indian ambassador to Israel for possible evacuation of the needy. The Indian envoy is said to have given a positive response.

“We can accommodate some Nepali nationals in our flights if they have the required documents,” Pandit quoted the Indian ambassador to Israel as having responded to him.

“We are also exploring yet another option to send Nepalis back via Egypt. The route is a 15-hour drive,” said Pandit. After providing details of Nepali nationals to the Egyptian side, they can issue visas but one has to undergo strict security checks at the Suez Canal. At present, all sea routes are also stopped so returning via Cyprus also appears impossible, he added.

Many Nepali nationals are in a state of confusion. Many Nepalis who went through the legal way may miss their gratuity if they return via land and prematurely because such money is available only while returning via the airport. Even if they return by chartered flights, they will miss the gratuity amounting to millions of rupees.

“When family members called them, they had made up their minds but when they came to realise that they were going to lose the cash, they decided to stay back,” Pandit told the Post over the phone from Tel Aviv.

India is preparing to take its citizens to Amman, Jordan, by bus and then fly them out. India has embassies in both Israel and Jordan, it is easier for Delhi to carry out such operations. However, as Nepal does not have a mission in Jordan, it has to make a formal request for expedited entry of Nepali citizens via Jordan along with Indian nationals.

“We need meticulous planning,” said Chettri of Nepal’s foreign ministry. “We will soon decide what to do on the evacuation of Nepali citizens from Israel.”