Ministry of Home Affairs clarifies that the airline, not immigration, stopped a Nepali citizen’s transit due to visa validity concerns.
It has been reported that Ms. Shambhavi Adhikari, a citizen of Nepal traveling to Berlin, was stopped at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) and sent back to Kathmandu. The incident has been wrongly portrayed as biased or discriminatory against Nepali citizens.
It is clarified on 1st November 2025 that Indian immigration authorities had no role in this matter. The passenger arrived from Kathmandu by Air India and was transiting through Delhi. She was stopped while boarding her connecting Qatar Airways flight. The airline decided not to allow her to continue her journey to Germany due to visa validity issues and flew her back to Kathmandu.
Such actions are taken in accordance with the destination country’s travel requirements. She later rescheduled her travel and flew to Germany via another route from Kathmandu.
International transit passengers are not required to approach Indian immigration for their onward journey. This issue was strictly between the airline and the passenger, with no involvement from Indian immigration authorities. India values its strong and friendly relationship with Nepal and reaffirms that no Indian authority holds any bias or discrimination against citizens of Nepal.
