Good to know
Good to Know
- Unlike Schengen-style visa waivers, Nepal's tourist entry always involves a fee for non-Indian, non-SAARC-first-visit, non-Chinese nationals — budget USD cash for this even if online pre-registration is completed.
- Filling out the online Tourist Visa form on the Department of Immigration website before flying saves time at Tribhuvan International Airport, but full online payment isn't available — payment happens in person on arrival.
- During peak trekking seasons (roughly October–November and March–April), airport immigration queues for Visa on Arrival can get long — pre-filling the online form or applying at an embassy beforehand helps.
- A tourist visa strictly prohibits paid work or employment in Nepal — nomads working remotely for foreign clients typically operate in a legal gray area under this visa type, as there is no dedicated remote-work/digital-nomad visa category.
- Passports must be valid for at least six months from the date of entry and have a blank visa page.
- As of mid-2026, Nepal's digital nomad visa is still a government proposal, not a live application — anyone wanting to base in Kathmandu now must use the standard tourist visa system and cannot legally work for pay from a Nepali source under it.
- The tourist visa cumulative cap is 150 days per calendar year (not per 12-month rolling period), so arriving late in the year followed by a January reset can effectively give more runway than arriving early in the year with the same visa.
- Bring clean USD cash for visa fees at Tribhuvan International Airport — card payment machines are not always reliable, and fees are quoted in USD or convertible foreign currency.
Extension Process
- Where
- Department of Immigration offices in Kathmandu (Kalikasthan) or Pokhara — extensions cannot be done at the airport or land borders.
- Minimum Extension
- 15 days
Fee Structure
Minimum 15-day Extension
- Minimum 15 Day Extension
- NPR 6,863
Each Additional Day Beyond Minimum
- Each Additional Day Beyond Minimum
- NPR 458
Late Filing Fine per Day (If Extension Processed Late, Up to 150-day Limit)
- Late Filing Fine Per Day (If Extension Processed Late, Up To 150 Day Limit)
- NPR 763
Visa On Arrival Durations And Fees
NPR
NPR
NPR
Proposed DNV Terms
- Caveat
- None of these terms are finalized law; they reflect the High-Level Economic Reform Recommendation Commission's proposal and government reform-plan announcements as of mid-2026, and are subject to change before official rollout.
- Renewal Path
- Expected to be an annual residence-permit renewal within the overall 5-year visa validity, rather than a full fresh application each year, though the Department of Immigration has not published the final renewal procedure.
- Visa Structure
- Proposed as a five-year, multiple-entry visa structured as annually renewable one-year residence permits within the five-year window (modeled loosely on Thailand's Destination Thailand Visa).
Documents Expected
- Proof of remote employment, freelance contracts, or business ownership with clients/employers outside Nepal
- Bank statements (recent months) evidencing income or savings threshold
- International health insurance certificate meeting the coverage minimum
- Valid passport and passport photos
- Background/criminal record check (expected but not yet formally confirmed in published rules)
Income Requirement
- Monthly Income Option
- NPR 229,200
- Savings Alternative Option
- NPR 3,056,000
- Note
- Applicant must show either the monthly foreign-sourced income figure OR the lump-sum savings figure, not both.
Additional Proposed Benefits
- Ability to open an account with a local Nepali commercial bank and hold/transact in foreign currency
- Right to purchase a vehicle and drive on a foreign-issued driving licence
- Full withdrawal of local bank balance permitted once the visa period ends without renewal
Health Insurance Requirement
- Minimum Coverage
- NPR 15,280,000
- Note
- Policy must be valid for treatment in Nepali hospitals; typical premiums for such coverage run roughly $30-$100/month according to nomad-focused trackers, but this is not an official government fee.
Other Current Legal Residency Paths
Business Visa
- Note
- For those investing in or operating a registered business in Nepal; not designed for remote employees of foreign companies.
Work Permit
- Note
- Required only if earning from a local Nepali source through a Nepali employer; not applicable to nomads paid by foreign clients/employers.
Marital (Non-Residential Nepal / Relationship) Visa
- Note
- Available if married to a Nepali citizen.
Current Practical Pathway Pending DNV Launch
- Route
- Tourist Visa on Arrival
- Important Limits
- A tourist visa legally covers tourism, not work; there is currently no legal on-ramp for long-term remote-work residency beyond 150 days/year without switching to a business, student, or marital (NRN) visa category, or an employer-sponsored work permit.
- Issuing Authority
- Department of Immigration, Nepal (available at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu and other designated entry points)
- Cumulative Extension Cap
- Tourist visas (including extensions) can be extended up to a cumulative maximum of 150 days per calendar year (January–December), done in person at the Department of Immigration in Kathmandu or Pokhara.
Extension Fees
- First 15 Days
- NPR 6,876
- Each Additional Day
- NPR 458
- Late Overstay Fee Per Day
- NPR 764
Durations And Fees
- Visa fee
- NPR 4,584
- Duration Days
- 15
- Visa fee
- NPR 7,640
- Duration Days
- 30
- Visa fee
- NPR 19,100
- Duration Days
- 90
Nepal has no Schengen-style blanket visa-free entry for non-Indian nomads. Instead, nearly all nationalities qualify for a paid Visa on Arrival (VOA) at Tribhuvan International Airport (Kathmandu) or major land border crossings, which functions as the practical default baseline for most digital nomads.
Who Qualifies
Citizens of most countries worldwide, including the US, UK, EU member states, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and most others, are eligible for Visa on Arrival without needing to apply at an embassy in advance.
Annual Stay Cap
Total time on a tourist visa (including all entries and extensions) cannot exceed 150 days within a single calendar year (January to December), regardless of how many separate 15/30/90-day visas are used to reach that total.
Fee Payment Note
Visa on arrival fees are conventionally quoted and paid in USD cash (or other convertible major currency) at the immigration counter; NPR equivalents above are calculated at a current market exchange rate and are not the official quoted figures.
Special Categories
- Children
- Children under 10 years old are exempt from tourist visa fees but still go through the visa stamping process.
- Saarc Citizens
- Citizens of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka (except Afghanistan) receive a free 30-day gratis visa on their first entry in a given visa year.
- Indian Citizens
- Indian citizens do not require a visa to enter Nepal at all and can enter using a passport or other approved Indian ID, under the long-standing bilateral treaty between the two countries.
- Chinese Citizens
- Chinese passport holders receive a free 30-day visa on arrival under a Nepal-China tourism cooperation arrangement.
Official Source Note
The Department of Immigration, Government of Nepal, is the sole official authority on entry rules and eligibility; travelers are advised to verify their specific nationality's status directly with them before flying.
No Visa Free Stay Beyond 150 Days
There is no route to remain visa-free or extend a tourist visa indefinitely beyond the 150-day annual cap; long-term nomads need a different visa category (e.g. business, but not tourist) to stay longer.
Excluded Nationalities Need Advance Visa
Nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iraq, Liberia, Nigeria, Palestine, Somalia, Swaziland (Eswatini), Syria, Iran, Zimbabwe, and refugee travel document holders cannot get a Visa on Arrival and must obtain a visa in advance from a Nepali embassy or consulate.
Tax Notes
- Caveat
- This 5% flat-rate regime is a proposal tied to the not-yet-launched DNV, not existing settled law; sources also inconsistently cite the trigger as either 183 or 186 days, so treat the exact figure as provisional until the government publishes the final policy document.
- General Tax Residency Trigger
- Under Nepal's existing income tax framework, presence of roughly 183 days or more in a Nepali income year is the standard threshold used to trigger local tax residency.
- Proposed DNV Specific Tax Treatment
- Under the proposed digital nomad visa framework, foreign-earned income would be tax-exempt for the first 183 days of the year, with a flat 5% tax on foreign earnings applying once a nomad's stay exceeds that threshold in a calendar year.
Current Status
Nepal does not yet have an operational digital nomad visa. A five-year Digital Nomad Visa (DNV) has been formally proposed under the government's Economic Reform Implementing Work Plan and endorsed by the Office of the Prime Minister, with a target launch in 2026, but as of this writing the application module, official fee schedule, and full legal text have not been published.
Visa Ease Tier
low
Visa Ease Tier Rationale
No operational digital-nomad or long-term remote-work residency currently exists in Nepal — the proposed 5-year DNV remains unlaunched — so nomads are limited to tourist visas capped at a cumulative 150 days per calendar year with no legal right to work locally during that stay.
This section has no cited sources.
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.