India-Nepal

Bilateral in force

INTRODUCTION

In July 1950, the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the Government of India and the Government of Nepal was adopted. This agreement is a bilateral treaty aimed at promoting the safety, security, friendship, and cultural and economic prosperity of both nations, and it includes provisions for the free movement of people.

Even if Great Britain never colonised Nepal, regional migration was prevalent during the 19th and 20th centuries, including Nepalese joining the British army – the so-called Gurkhas. Following independence, in a postcolonial context where India adopted an open approach to citizenship and migration, the 1950 agreement was established.

Modelled on the 1923 Friendship Treaty between Great Britain and Nepal, its provisions are broader and more ambitious. It enshrines under Article 7 that citizens of both countries enjoy the same privileges as nationals in terms of “residence, ownership of property, participation in trade and commerce, movement and other privileges of a similar nature”.

Although the Freemove project does not evaluate its implementation, it is important to note that numerous experts regard migration between the two countries as internal due to an open border. Furthermore, the IOM describes the agreement as providing “national treatment to citizens of one country in the other’s country” (p. 36).

STATE PARTIES

INDIA
NEPAL

TIMELINE

1950	The Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the Government of India and the Government of Nepal was adopted in Katmandu on 31 July and entered into force on the same date.

KEY LEGAL DOCUMENTS

Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the Government of India and the Government of Nepal, Katmandu, 31 July 1950, entry into force 31 July 1950.