Kathmandu, May 3

The Department of Immigration under the Ministry of Home Affairs today revoked the visa of a Canadian citizen and ordered him to leave Nepal within two days.

Robert Penner, who has been living in Nepal for two years now, was arrested by police on the charge of trying to undermine the sovereignty and integrity of the country, and jeopardise social harmony through provocative messages, views and comments on social networking sites, especially Twitter.

He had obtained work visa as an employee at Lalitpur-based Cloud Factory, an outsourcing company. The visa was scheduled to expire in December. The Metropolitan Police Range, Lalitpur arrested Penner yesterday at the request of the DoI and handed over the accused to the immigration authority for legal action under the Immigration Procedures, 2008.

Bishwa Prakash Nepuane, director and information officer at the DoI, told The Himalayan Times that Penner was guilty of indulging in anti-Nepal activities and was ordered to quit Nepal within two days. “As per the DoI decision, Penner should fly back home no later than Thursday or else the government will initiate further action against him. We handed him over to the Consulate of Canada in Kathmandu, giving him two days for ticketing and other preparations,” said Neupane.

According to him, Penner was also disqualified from re-entering Nepal in 2016. “The government may consider granting him visa on the basis of his activity and attitude toward Nepal after 2016,” informed Neupane. Penner was critical of the Government of Nepal, internal affairs of the country and the prime minister, said the officials.