The Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) is the central interior ministry of the Royal Government of Bhutan, responsible for civil administration, immigration and citizenship, local-government coordination, and disaster management. It is the successor to the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs (MoHCA), which was renamed under the 2022 Civil Service Reform Act.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (Dzongkha: ནང་སྲིད་ལྷན་ཁག, MoHA) is the interior ministry of the Royal Government of Bhutan. It oversees law and order, civil administration, the dzongkhag (district) and gewog (block) governance system, immigration, citizenship and identity documents, the preservation of Bhutanese culture and heritage, disaster management, and the registration of religious organisations.[1]
The ministry is the successor to the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs (MoHCA), which existed in that form from 2003 until December 2022. Under the Civil Service Reform Act of Bhutan 2022, the cultural functions were retained inside the renamed Ministry of Home Affairs and the broader civil-service architecture was reduced to nine ministries.[2]
As of January 2024, the Minister is Lyonpo Tshering, member of parliament for North Thimphu, who was sworn in on 28 January 2024 in the cabinet of Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay.[3]
Mandate and Departments
The ministry's portfolio covers a broader range of policy areas than the name "home affairs" might suggest in some other jurisdictions. Its principal functions include:
- Civil registration of citizenship and the issuance of citizenship identity cards;
- Immigration policy, residency permits, and the regulation of foreign nationals working or studying in Bhutan, executed by the Department of Immigration;
- The protection, promotion, and development of Bhutanese culture and heritage, executed by the Department of Culture and Dzongkha Development;
- Coordination of dzongkhag and gewog administrations, including the office of the dzongdag (district administrator);
- Disaster management policy, executed by the Department of Disaster Management;
- The civil oversight of the Royal Bhutan Police;
- The registration and regulation of religious organisations and non-Buddhist places of worship, in coordination with the Commission for Religious Organisations.
The Department of Culture and Dzongkha Development became a department under the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs on 19 June 2003, bringing together the conservation of dzongs and traditional arts with the regulation of national dress and protocol.[4]
History and Restructuring
An interior portfolio existed in the Royal Government of Bhutan throughout the modern era. The Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs (MoHCA) was created in its modern form in 2003 with the consolidation of cultural-affairs work under the home portfolio.[4]
Under the Civil Service Reform Act of Bhutan 2022, which restructured the executive into nine ministries with effect from 30 December 2022, the ministry was renamed the Ministry of Home Affairs and several functions were redistributed. The Department of Local Governance, which had handled day-to-day coordination of the local-government system, was reorganised; certain land-administration functions remained with the National Land Commission.[2]
Department of Immigration
The Department of Immigration administers entry permits, route permits, residence permits, and naturalisation. The department's structure includes an Immigration Service Division — which runs Regional Immigration Offices and the immigration counters at Paro International Airport — an Inspection Division, and a Naturalisation and Resident Permit Division.[5]
Citizenship law is administered through the department under the framework set by the Citizenship Act of 1958, the Bhutan Citizenship Act of 1977, and the Bhutan Citizenship Act of 1985, together with constitutional provisions. The administration of citizenship and the issuance of identity documents have been historically contested in connection with the Lhotshampa population in southern Bhutan.
See Also
- Cabinet of Tshering Tobgay (2024)
- Royal Bhutan Police
- National Land Commission
- Civil Service Reform Act 2022
References
See also
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