American Family of Eight Deported from Nepal After Seven-Year Stay, Barred from Return for 11 Years

An American family of eight, including a man and his six children, has been deported from Nepal and banned from re-entering the country for 11 years.

On August 26, Nepal’s Department of Immigration arrested Daniel Stephen Courney, an American citizen on a business visa. The department deported him on September 6.

During its investigation, the department found evidence that Courney was engaged in proselytizing, which violates the terms of his business visa. He allegedly published Christian religious books under the guise of a publications company and was captured on video publicly preaching in various locations in Lalitpur.

The investigation also revealed his indirect involvement in running a children’s home, which allegedly taught Christianity to underprivileged children from remote areas under the pretense of providing them with an education.

The department also found that Courney had previously been deported from India in 2017. Based on these findings, he was fined 50,000 Nepalese Rupees and banned from re-entering the country for 11 years.

Courney’s wife and six children were also on dependent business visas. Once his visa was canceled, theirs were automatically revoked. Although they were eligible to apply for tourist visas, Courney requested that his entire family be sent back to the U.S. with him.

Tika Ram Dhakal, a spokesperson for the Department of Immigration, explained that Nepal deports foreign citizens who violate immigration laws or engage in criminal activities, just as other countries deport Nepalese citizens for similar offenses.

According to Dhakal, 504 foreign nationals were deported from Nepal in 2024. This year, 169 have been deported in the first eight months alone. The majority of these deportations are due to foreigners overstaying their tourist visas, which have a maximum duration of 150 days. Other reasons for deportation include using fake passports, human trafficking, misuse of foreign currency, indecent behavior, sexual misconduct, and rape.

In a recent related case, the department also deported a French woman who was on tourist and student visas but was working in a bakery and had a co-investment in a hotel. She was fined 50,000 Nepalese Rupees and banned from re-entering the country for three years.

Additionally, four Indonesian citizens were deported for allegedly teaching Turkish to underprivileged children from various districts under the guise of running a girls’ hostel. They were also fined 50,000 Nepalese Rupees and banned from re-entering Nepal for three years.

Dhakal said the Department of Immigration has increased its enforcement and investigation efforts into these types of activities.