Obtaining Tax Clearance Certificate and Pan Card correction from Inland Revenue Department (Antarik Rajaswo Bibhag)

Picture source:-newbusinessage.com

Recently I had visited Inland Revenue Department (Antarik Rajaswo Bibhag) Lazimpat in order to rectify  the date of birth in my PAN Card which was not consistent with my Citizenship Card and to get Tax Clearance Certificate of my salary for visa purposes.

Please note that, though PAN card of, either you or your sponsor, is (almost?) always required to send tuition fees abroad. Tax Clearance Certificate is required only in the case of some countries and in certain cases, and you need to produce it when the embassy specifically asks for it. For example, if you have applied for the residence permit to Finland, and to fulfill the means of support requirement, you have shown your or your sponsors' (who work in Nepal) salary, Finnish Immigration Service usually asks for the Tax Clearance Certificate from Inland Revenue Department. If it is not required for the country you are applying to, do not let it puzzle you.

In order to correct the date of birth on my PAN Card, I had to write an application in Nepali on a piece of paper, and submit there. You will find IRD staff there to assist customers and can consult them about what to do in your specific case. After submitting the application and waiting in the waiting area (which has a fair amount of sofa for you to sit) for almost an hour, I received a new and corrected PAN card. To get that, I did not have to fill out the application form all over again. The PAN number was the same as before on the new card and they even used the same photograph I had initially submitted for my first PAN card.

Now, for the Tax Clearance Certificate of your salary, first you need to make sure that your taxes have been regularly paid from your salary. Sometimes your employer might not have paid your taxes for the fiscal year, and nothing will be shown on the Tax Clearance Certificate. In that case, you need to first contact the person responsible for paying the taxes, in your office, probably the accountant, and make sure if the applicable taxes have been paid. If those have not been paid, request the accountant to pay it so that the amount of taxes paid will be shown in your Tax Clearance Report from Inland Revenue Department(IRD). IRD will issue the document in Nepali, and you can have it translated into English from any registered notary public office. I had mine translated at NPR 300, but the charges may vary; also you can bargain to see if you can bring the price down.

How to obtain a Bank Statement if the owner of the account is not in Nepal?

Photo by: Robert Bye -Unsplash

 This is a somewhat unique case, but it can happen to students whose sponsors are abroad, and own bank accounts in Nepal. And, students need to show the bank statement of their sponsors for visa purposes of different countries.

Ideally, a bank statement is only provided to the respective account owner, by the bank, after showing valid ID card and affixing his/her authorised signature to the application form, due to the sensitive nature of the document.

But now, as many Nepali nationals are abroad for the purpose of foreign employment; if a student wishes to show someone residing and working abroad as his/her sponsor, they need to show their bank statement of either their foreign bank or their bank in Nepali if applicable.

It is possible to get the bank statement no matter where you are via email by filling out the bank statement request form, downloading it from bank's official website and sending it to bank's email in the case of many Nepali banks. It could take a few days to receive the statement through this method. Machhapuchchhre Bank Limited had taken almost 5 days to send the document through email request.

However, if you need the statement more urgently and if you want to visit the bank yourself and receive the statement on behalf of your sponsor, you can do the following.

I am sharing my experience of a similar case here. This approach might not work in all banks because each bank has their own set of policies that govern them. You need to understand with your sponsor's bank about their requirements.

In order to obtain the bank statement in the aforementioned case, you need to request your sponsor who's abroad to write an application (either in English or in Nepali) and send it to the bank's email, either customer service email or branch manager's email of a specific branch. Also request your sponsor to include their account number, authorised signature and define your relationship with him/her. In addition, the application should include your citizenship card number so the bank will be sure that you are the authorised recipient of the document.

It is better to visit the bank before the application is sent by your sponsor and ask the bank if they require any other details and have your sponsor send the application fulfilling the requirement laid out by their bank.

I had obtained the bank statement following the above-mentioned procedure at Machhapuchchhre Bank Limited's head office Lazimpat, Kathmandu. However, Machhapuchchhre Bank had told me that if the email is received from the bank owner's authorised email registered in Machhapuchchhre Bank's system, the signature of the account owner may not be needed. But if the owner does not have his email registered in MBL's system, the owner's signature is a must with the email application. It does not hurt in any case though, to affix a signature of the account owner.

 I hope this blogpost will be helpful if you are in a similar situation and are wondering what to do.

Bank Statement and Bank Balance Certificate for abroad study purposes

A bank statement by definition is the summary of financial transactions, which typically shows your deposits and withdrawals, during a specific period of time.

Bank Balance Certificate is a document issued by the bank that shows that an individual has a certain amount of money in this account.

Bank Statement and Bank Balance Certificate are required, to apply for a student visa of different countries. In order to obtain them, you need to visit the bank where you own your bank account. Depending on your bank, you might need to fill out a small Bank Statement and Bank Balance Certificate form. So, as you enter the bank, ask if you are required to fill out a form, to obtain those.

Fill out the form and then wait in a queue. In most banks, both Bank Statement and Bank balance certificate are issued at customer service department or reception of the bank. Some banks might have a separate department for Bank Balance Certificate and Bank Statement. For example, at NIC Asia Kamaladi Branch, when I visited, Bank Balance Certificate was issued on the ground floor and Bank Statement was issued from the counter on the first floor. However, the branches of NIC Asia bank of Gongabu and Samakushi provide both services from the reception. Depending on customer flow, different branches have different arrangements as to how they provide their services. Make sure how your bank provides those services.

If you have to take a token, take the right token. In some branches of NIC Asia, for instance: NIC Asia Gongabu Branch, there's a separate token called CSD which is called Customer Service Department. However, up until the day I visited the NIC Asia Samakhushi Branch, there was no token system. Things might be different in the future and depending on the branch and bank you visit.

Normally, issuance of Bank Balance Certificate and Bank Statement should not take much time. However, sometimes, the system of the bank to generate Bank Balance Certificate might not function and you might be required to wait for long hours. E.g. Nabil Bank Maharajgunj Branch, had made my friend wait for the entire day citing their system was not functioning, which normally takes around 30 minutes or less, when the system is working normally.

When visiting your bank, make sure everything you need is in order, so you get the document you need without much hassle.You need to have your account number handy because you need to fill that in the form. Also, fill out address and other details as per your Citizenship Card.

Documents required to send tuition fees from Nepal to your foreign university.

Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels

It is somewhat a complex process to transfer money from your bank in Nepal to a foreign bank, mainly due to the rules  and regulations of Nepal Government and Nepal Rastra Bank. In fact Government of Nepal has just allowed USD 500 Pre-Paid Dollar Card.  500 USD might be enough to make purchases of small amount, it is however nowhere near enough to pay the tuition fees of your university abroad for one academic year or 6 months, which majority of the students wishing to study abroad have to pay. Having said that, it is not impossible to send the tuition fees either, so in this blogpost I will explain you the process, if you read this carefully and plan beforehand you will avoid a lot of possible hassles.

Documents required

1) Offer Letter from your foreign university

2) College Invoice

3) No Objection Certificate (NOC), issued by MOE Nepal.

4)PAN Card, (if you do not already have one, you can get one from Inland Revenue Department, Aantarik Rajaswo Bibhag Nepal, there are many offices of Inland Revenue Department in Kathmandu).

5) Your Passport ( Take a photocopy of it.  Of course they'll copy themselves, but banks are usually                                            overcrowded so prepare it ahead of time to avoid the hassle)

6) Sufficient funds on your or your sponsor's bank account.
           (Remember that you need to calculate the total amount on today's date converting your money to  the currency (e.g. USD, AUD, EUR, CAD) you want to deposit also add 2% government tax applicable when sending tuition fees abroad and required transfer fees, usually we pay all transfer charges ourselves (OUR) to make sure that university receives the exact amount mentioned in the invoice).

There's also another option (SHA-Shared) in which we only pay our bank's outgoing charges, but OUR option would be preferable so the University gets the exact amount you are sending. However do not confuse yourself with OUR and SHA as some banks put OUR themselves, but if they asked you, you can now make an informed decision.

Then with those 5 documents and ensuring you have enough funds, you head to your bank where you have an account. This type of transaction is normally handled by the "Remittence" department of the banks. Then they will give you the form to fill in, where you need to put beneficiary's name- which is the account name of your university. It needs to be exactly the same as what's written in the invoice you receive from your university. And, beneficiary's bank - which is the name of your university's bank. IBAN number which is International Bank account number and it is mentioned in the invoice as well. Address of your beneficiary's bank. And then you put your name, address, phone number and signature. All these details need to be clear as bank in Nepal does not want to take a risk sending money with incorrect details because even a minor mistake will result in your money being returned to your account. Hence, if something is unclear, email your university immediately and ask for clarification. Usually, bank officials want everything in print. If you have clarification details in your email, print that one out as well.

After the form is duly filled in with all the details, you can then submit all the documents at the remittence counter. If they say everything is ok, then they will transfer the money. After the money has been transferred they will issue you receipt of it. You need to visit the bank after few hours to obtain the receipt of transfer.

Though it may not be mandatory, you can send the scanned copy (Or a photo ) of the transfer receipt to your university so they can verify it and send you the acknowledgement document of the tuition fees paid, which is required when you apply for your visa.

As long as you have an offer letter, NOC issued by MOE, a PAN card issued by IRD, and a clear invoice from your university vividly mentioning account name, IBAN, Swift Code, Bank Address, and Beneficiary's bank name, the process should be rather smooth. 

Also read.
List of Documents required for Canada.
NOC
Costs of applying to Canada

List of documents required for Nepali students to study in Canada.

Image source: Change.org

This blogpost contains the comprehensive list of documents required for Nepali students to apply for a  Student Visa to Canada. Though this document checklist is specifically for Canada, it also helps Nepali students to apply to other countries as well. This checklist is from the time I applied and it might vary in future. So check the official website of Canadian Immigration or contact Canadian Embassy or High Commission for authentic and up-to-date information.

1.  SOP (Statement of Purpose)       
   This is a crucial document. It should reflect why you want to pursue a certain course in a Canadian    university. It must be original, succinct and powerful.  Sample SOPs can be found online. I was told that it plays a big role in deciding your visa outcome.
   
   
2. CV
   Your CV detailing your previous study and work experience. If you have a gap in studies, it is a good idea to include work experience to compensate for that in your CV.
   
   
3. Transcript, Character, Provisional and Migration Certificates
   All your academic certificates
   
   
4. IELTS
   IELTS test score is very important. You should have an overall IELTS score of at least 6.5 with no band score less than 6 in order to be eligible for applying to Canada. Some agents can encourage you to apply even with lower IELTS score but visa chances will be significantly smaller.
   
   
5. Experience Letter
   If you have work experience include that as well. If you have a gap in studies include work experience to compensate for that.
   
   
6. 2 Recommendation Letters
   You can have your recommendation letters issued from your workplace and your high-school or university teachers / professors.
   
   
7. Extra Curricular Certificates
   If you have taken part in extra-curricular activities and possess the certifications of the same, include those as well because those will help create positive impression of you in the mind of the  Visa Officer.
   
   
8. Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate (if applicable), Relationship Certificate, Income Verification, Income Reference Letter, Tax Clearance, Address Verification, Property Valuation, Land Ownership Certificate Translation
   You can get nearly all the documents from your ward office. Land Ownership translation can be done in any authorised Notary Public's office. If your ward documents are in Nepali, you need to translate them into English and notarise them as well.
   
   
9. Sponsor Letter
   You also need to attest the sponsor letter written and signed by your sponsors. Sponsor could be your parents, siblings or any other valid sponsor. This letter mentions that they will fund your stay and studies in Canada.
   
   
10. Police Report
    You are also required to attach police report mentioning you have no criminal records against you. You can apply for a  police report online and receive it in your Email (within 24 hours). This is the easiest option.
    
    
11. No Objection Letter
    You can get your No Objection Certificate (or letter) (NOC) from Ministry of Education Keiser Mahal Kathmandu. Now you can apply for it online as well.
    
    
12. Offer Letter
    Offer Letter from a valid Canadian University or College is required.
    
    
13. T.T. Copy
    This document shows that you have sent tuition fees to your University in Canada. This document is issued by your Nepali Bank after you have sent the tuition fees. I was told that Nepal Investment Bank is good to send fees to Canada, you can also learn with other banks about the charges and choose whichever is best for you. You also need to pay government tax while sending tuition fees. Even if your visa gets rejected, the government tax will not be refunded. Sounds strange? but that's how it is as of now.
    
    
14.  PAN Card
    You do not need to attach PAN Card or a copy of it to the application. However, you require a PAN Card to send tuition fees to your university from Nepal. PAN stands for Permanent Account Number. So, if you get it once, you must keep it for lifetime and can use it anywhere. You can apply it online with a Passport size photo (digital, if applied online) and your Citizenship card and you need to visit Inland Revenue Department to get your PAN Card. You can get it on the same day free of cost.
    
    
15. College Receipt
    This is the document issued by college which shows that college / university has received your tuition fees.  You can have the receipt sent by your University / college to your email or download it from the online portal in the case of some universities.
    
    
16. CA Report
    You are required to have all your income related documents audited by a licensed Chartered Accountant. In my case I had paid almost NRS 2500 to get a CA report. It might vary from one firm to another.
    
    
17. Balance Certificate
    You also need to show your Bank Balance which should be 30-40 Lakhs Nepali rupees. It shows that you have sufficient funds for your stay in Canada. If you are applying with your spouse Bank Balance should be almost / more than 40 Lakhs.
    
    
18. Bank Statement (Not Compulsory) 
    You also need to show your Bank Statement as well if it is possible. You can get your Bank Statement free of charge from your bank. But when I applied I was told that it is not compulsory if you cannot have it issued.
    
    
19. Document Checklist
    You also need to attach the checklist of all the documents you have in your application, which will make the visa officer convenient to access a particular document.
    
    
20. Consent Form
    
21. Study Permit Form
22. Study Permit Questionnaire
    
23. IMM Form
    
24. Schedule Form
25. Family Information
    
    
26. Photo
    In my case they had taken photo themselves at VFS Office.
    
    
27. Demand Draft
    You can get Demand Draft from your Bank. Ask with your consultancy or agent about the amount of Demand Draft. You need two separate Demand Drafts for Visa and Biometric fees.
    
    
28. Passport
    You need to send your passport to Canadian High Commission New Delhi. And after the visa decision has been made, VFS will inform you by phone and by Email and you can book a date at VFS to collect your passport.
    
    Also read this. (How much it costs tentatively to apply to Canada).
    https://nepalihal.blogspot.com/2021/04/how-much-money-nepali-student-loses-if.html

How to make an Income Certificate if you are an Indian military brat from one of pension paying offices of India, in Nepal, for student visa purpose?

When going abroad it is common for the visa purpose of many western countries that you need  to show an Income Certificate. If you are a son or daughter of an ex-serviceman of Indian Armed Forces and wondering how you can show the Income Certificate of the same, this blog post will help you.

The process is quite simple. Ex-serviceman, who could be your natural father, can have it issued from one of the Indian Pension Camps in Nepal.  For instance, there is one pension camp or pension paying office in Rambazar, Pokhara. For this, the ex-serviceman should write an application stating that he needs an income certificate for visa purposes, of a certain country, where his son or daughter wants to go for study. Furthermore, he should have all the documents that he shows to draw his pension. You can write a simple application in Nepali language as well. 

You need to show how you are related to the ex-serviceman, in paper, in the relationship certificate verified and stamped by your VDC, Gaunpalika, or Municipality.

Once the application is submitted, they check it, do necessary paperwork and issue you an income certificate, stating monthly and yearly salaries. Sometimes, you might need to wait for few after submitting the application until they make the document ready.

Sample of the Income Certificate issued by Pension Paying Office, Pokhara, is shown below.

                                                 

                                                               Stamp of the Pension Paying Office


                                                                Embassy of India
                                                                Pension Paying Office
                                                                 Pokhara (Nepal)






                                   INCOME CERTIFICATE

1. This is to certify that   Number and Name of the ex-serviceman,  Govt of India pensioner, is drawing his pension @ NRs  pension amount in numbers  (pension amount in words in bracket) per month. His annual income is NRs pension amount in numbers  (pension amount in words in bracket).

2. This certificate has been issued for visa purpose only.



Station: EOI, PPO Pokhara                                                           _________________________
Dated:                                                                                           (Signature of the Sub Treasury Officer
(stamp of PPO)                                                                               EOI, PPO, Pokhara)

My experience of obtaining 'No Objection Letter' (NOC) from MOE, Nepal.

By Santosh Subedi, Shuklagandaki.

Update:-NOC can be now applied online, please refer to the letter below.

                                               

For the User Manual on how to apply NOC Online. Click Here

I went to get my  No Objection Letter on 4th July 2019, so some information might change in future. But, this post should give you a general idea. Also write your experiences, more specifically, the problems you faced and how you resolved them, in the comment box below which will definitely help other students.

If you are planning on going abroad for study, and you need to transfer money to your foreign college or university, or you're taking traveller's cheque from Nepal to a foreign country to deposit money in a foreign bank upon you reach there, you will need a No Objection Letter issued by Ministry of Education, Nepal. It is a time-consuming and sometimes painstaking process to get an NOC issued. When you have all the documents in order, and duly filled-out application form, you need not worry much. But, even if there is a slight mistake in the application form, or you lack one or more of the necessary documents, you can get in trouble and may not have NOC issued on the same day, despite having waited in the queue for hours. Here is my personal experience of and guidelines for getting a No Objection Letter. I hope it helps you. Also, if you have any doubts or questions, please write them in the comment box below, I will try to answer them when I can.

LOCATION

This is the main entrance of Kaiser Mahal or Kaiser Library, also this is the entrance to the office where NOCs are issued. Photo Credit:-Wikimedia commons