As many as ten foreign nationals who entered Nepal on tourist visas were later granted student visas using forged documents purportedly issued by a Sanskrit studies institution in Kathmandu, exposing apparent weaknesses in the government’s visa verification process.

The fraud came to light only after Nepal’s Department of Immigration launched an investigation into the activities of the visa holders, which officials described as suspicious. The inquiry found that the Ministry of Education and Sports had recommended student visas for eight Chinese nationals, one Russian and one South Korean based on forged recommendation letters bearing the letterhead of Balmiki Campus, an academic institution located in Kathmandu’s Exhibition Road area.

Ram Chandra Tiwari, director general of the Department of Immigration, acknowledged that the department had issued one-year student visas after receiving a recommendation from the ministry. He said subsequent checks revealed that none of the individuals had arrived at the institution for study purposes.

“A group involved in document forgery prepared fake papers and sent a recommendation to the ministry in the name of the institution, seeking student visas for ten foreigners,” Tiwari said. “We approved the visas based on the ministry’s request. We conducted the investigation to discover that the letter purportedly issued by the institution was forged. Further investigations are underway, and those involved will be brought to justice.”

According to documents obtained during the investigation, a letter dated May 20 was sent to the ministry’s Volunteer Mobilisation and Visa Recommendation Section under the name Balmiki Campus. The letter, purportedly signed on behalf of principal Achyut Prasad Lamichhane, requested one-year academic study visas for ten foreign students.

The letter claimed that the students had passed an entrance examination conducted by the Department of Sanskrit Literature at Nepal Sanskrit University and had been formally enrolled in the first year of a two-year master’s programme in Sanskrit Literature beginning in March 2026.

Supporting documents submitted to the ministry also claimed that each student had paid tuition fees of Rs70,840. A separate receipt indicated that a total of Rs708,400 had been deposited on May 15.

Based on these documents, ministry officer Bishnu Prasad Acharya prepared a recommendation on June 3, concluding that the applicants were eligible for student visas.

Nepal’s Immigration Regulations allow foreign nationals and their family members to obtain student visas if they have government approval to study, teach or conduct research at recognised educational institutions in the country.

Citing those provisions, Under Secretary at the Education Ministry Lok Bahadur Lopchan forwarded the proposal to Joint Secretary Rudra Prasad Adhikari on June 4. The same day, Adhikari approved a recommendation to the Department of Immigration for the issuance of one-year student visas. The visas were subsequently granted.

The scheme unravelled after immigration officials grew suspicious and sought additional information from Balmiki Campus on Wednesday regarding the foreign nationals who had received visas.

In response, acting principal and professor Umesh Prasad Ghimire informed the department that none of the individuals were studying at the institution. He also said that the campus had never issued the recommendation letter and was not running any master’s-level classes for foreign students at the time. None of the visa recipients had ever been enrolled there.

That response prompted immigration authorities to intensify their investigation.

Officials have since arrested Subodh Shukla, accused of preparing and submitting the forged documents to the ministry, and a Chinese national, Wang Jinkao, who allegedly obtained a student visa using the fake paperwork.

Shukla is a resident of ward 9 in Birgunj Metropolitan City, Parsa district.

The Department of Immigration said the remaining nine foreign nationals are currently being traced.

Immigration Director Teeka Ram Dhakal said visas for nine of the individuals had already been issued and collected several days earlier. One Chinese applicant, however, had not yet received the visa because officials had retained the passport after becoming suspicious.

“We called the individual to the office on Thursday under the pretext that the visa had been approved and was ready for collection,” Dhakal said. “The person was then taken into custody from within the department’s premises.”

According to Dhakal, Shukla was first summoned by telephone and later arrived at the immigration office accompanied by the Chinese national.

During preliminary questioning, Shukla reportedly admitted creating the forged documents on his own computer and using them to secure recommendations for student visas. Authorities are continuing their investigation into the wider network involved in the scheme.