Britain moves to settle veteran Gurkha soldiers
To assist the settlement of British Gurkha ex-servicemen and their eligible dependents in the United Kingdom, the British High Commission has opened a Gurkha Settlement Office in Kathmandu. The office will provide free guidance on the visa application process, which is likely to benefit an estimated 100,000 soldiers.
Kathmandu: After losing the battle to prevent all retired Gurkha soldiers from settling in Britain, the Gordon Brown government Monday announced the opening of a Gurkha Settlement Office (GSO) in Kathmandu to assist British Gurkha veterans and their eligible dependants to relocate to the UK.
The GSO will provide essential information to prepare Gurkha veterans, who want to move to the UK, for life there, including answering questions on life and support arrangements that would be available once they have migrated from Nepal.
The GSO, located within the British Gurkhas Nepal camp in Man Bhawan Jawalakhel, Lalitpur will also provide guidance on the visa application process.
The British High Commission in Kathmandu said the services and information will be provided free of charge.
The move comes after an association of Gurkha vets that had fought a series of legal battles against the British defence ministry to wrest equal rights for Nepali soldiers serving in the British Army, took the initiative to advise veterans wishing to settle in the UK.
The Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen’s Association (GAESO) has also employed British lawyers to fight further legal battles for retired soldiers whose applications for resettlement were rejected.
The move comes after the British government was forced to ease immigration regulations for Gurkha vets. Till summer, only those who had retired after July 1997 were eligible to make the UK their home.
However, a high-profile campaign led by British actress Joanna Lumley, whose father had been in the British Army and had been saved during the war by a Nepali soldier, led British MPs to vote against the government.
Finally, in May this year, the British home secretary announced new guidelines according to which British Gurkha servicemen who retired before 1997 and their eligible dependants will also be considered for resettlement.
Gurkha servicemen who served in the British Army prior to July 1, 1997 and completed four years’ service can apply to settle in the UK with their spouses and dependant minor children.
It is estimated that nearly 100,000 Nepali soldiers and their families could migrate to the UK, which will cost the British government over 1.4 billion pounds in healthcare, education and other expenses.
Most Gurkha families say they would like to live in the UK for advanced healthcare facilities available there as well as education and job prospects for their children.
