Kathmandu, Nepal – The Federal Civil Service Bill, proposing to bar individuals holding foreign permanent residency or convicted of specific crimes from joining the civil service, was registered in the Federal Parliament, Nepal’s bicameral legislature, on September 29, 2026.
Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration Pratibha Rawal registered the bill, which is expected to bring a ‘paradigm shift’ in the country’s public administration.
The bill’s Section 18(2)(g) explicitly prohibits individuals with permanent residency permits from foreign countries from entering Nepal’s civil service. Section 2(t) of Chapter 1 clarifies that such permits include Diversity Immigrant Visas (DV), Permanent Resident (PR) status, and Green Cards.
Furthermore, the proposed legislation bars those convicted by a court for corruption, forgery of government or public documents, crimes against national interest, or drug trafficking. It also extends the prohibition to individuals found guilty of money laundering, trafficking of archaeological objects, human trafficking, kidnapping, abduction, rape, polygamy, caste-based discrimination, or other criminal offenses involving moral turpitude.
Minister Rawal stated that the bill aims to make the civil service more capable, effective, efficient, accountable, and results-oriented. She expressed confidence that it would provide a crucial foundation for the effective implementation of the federal governance system and serve as a milestone for good governance and public administration reform.
The bill proposes to replace the existing hierarchical system with a 14-level structure. It also includes provisions for a mandatory retirement age of 55 years or after 30 years of service, with a special clause allowing 58 years of service for pension purposes for those retiring at 55.
Another significant provision is a ‘cooling-off period,’ which prohibits former government employees from taking up other government appointments or roles in non-governmental organizations with conflicting interests for two years after their resignation or retirement.
This bill seeks to replace the three-decade-old Civil Service Act. The Council of Ministers, Nepal’s cabinet, approved the submission of the bill to the Federal Parliament on September 29, 2026. Prior to this, the draft bill was sent to the Public Service Commission, the constitutional body responsible for civil service appointments, for consultation around September 9, 2026, and was returned with its recommendations.
Versions of the Civil Service Bill have been under parliamentary discussion since March 4, 2024. The House of Representatives, the lower house of parliament, had previously passed a version of the bill on June 29, 2025, sending it to the National Assembly, the upper house.
With its registration, the bill now enters the parliamentary process for deliberation and potential amendments. However, the Federal Parliament’s monsoon session is scheduled to conclude on October 2, 2026, suggesting that further discussions on the bill might take place in the next parliamentary session.
Several aspects of the bill remain subject to further clarification or debate. There is a contradiction regarding the mandatory retirement age, with some sources indicating 55 years or 30 years of service, while others suggest an increase from 58 to 60 years. The final form of the ‘cooling-off period’ is also under contention, with proposals from various political parties to either remove or extend it.
Additionally, detailed provisions regarding the management of provincial and local level employees, specifically whether they will remain under the central government or be deployed from provincial services, are yet to be fully clarified.
