obtaining your visa for Nepal

Tourist Visa

Tribhuvan International Airport is the only international airport of Nepal. Immigration Office, TIA (Tribhuvan International Airport) under Department of Immigration has been facilitating tourists flying to Nepal by providing Visa on Arrival. 'On Arrival' visa procedure is very quick and simple. You can expect some queues during peak Tourist season. If you wish to skip those queues, you can also consider getting Visa from Nepalese Diplomatic Missions stationed abroad prior to your arrival. Choice is yours.

 If you have obtained visa from Nepalese Diplomatic Missions, then you must enter Nepal within six months from the visa issued date. Your total stay is counted starting from the day you enter into Nepal.

Visas obtained on Arrival at the Entry and Exit points are 'Tourist Visas'.  They bear multiple Re entry facility. Tourist Visa 'On Arrival' is the only entry visa to Nepal. If you are visiting Nepal for the purposes other than Tourism (sightseeing, tour, travel, mountaineering, trekking, visiting friends and families), you should still get ' Tourist Visa' to get into the country.  However, you must change the category of visa as per your purpose and length of stay in Nepal from Department of Immigration by producing required documents.

Nationals of following countries are requested to acquire Visa prior their arrival from their nearby Diplomatic missions (Embassies/consulates) of Nepal Government.  

1. Nigeria
2. Ghana
3. Zimbabwe
4. Swaziland
5. Cameroon
6. Somalia
7. Liberia
8. Ethiopia
9. Iraq
10. Palestine
11. Afghanistan
12. Syria
13. Refugees with travel document

Please follow these simple procedures for Tourist Visa on Arrival at the airport (TIA)  if you have not acquired Visa prior to boarding the plane.

1st  Step

• Fill in ' Arrival Card '
• Fill in Online ‘Tourist Visa ‘form ( you can fill it up  prior to your arrival  visiting our official website  Department of Immigration / fill it up using Kiosk machines upon your arrival at the airport).  If you fill it from the website, you will get submission Receipt with barcode, please print it out and bring it along for acquiring visa. It works for fifteen days and becomes invalid then after.  If so, you will have to fill it up again2nd  2nd 

2nd Step

• Make payment  at the bank according to your visa requirement ( 15/30/90 Days)
• Get the receipt

To apply online, click here: http://online.nepalimmigration.gov.np/tourist-visa

Be sure to have the following items handy:

• Cash to pay the visa fee (preferably USD, especially at land crossings, but you can also pay with EUR, CHF, GBP, AUD, CAD, HKD, SGD, and JPY);
• A passport that is valid for at least six months.
• Note that the following nationalities cannot obtain a visa-on-arrival: AFG, IRQ, CMR, GHA, SOM, SWZ, PSE, ZWE, NGA, ETH, and LBR.

While you can use different modes of payments (at visa fees collection counter), we advise you to carry some cash to be on the safe side.

On Arrival Visa Fee at Entry Points

15 Days – 30 USD

30 Days – 50 USD

90 Days – 125 USD

3rd Step  

• Proceed to the Immigration Desk with your online form,  payment receipts and your passport
• Hand in your documents to immigration officer for visa processing. He/she issues visa to you upon his/her satisfaction.

Visa Extension Fee 

• Tourist visa extension is done for minimum 15 days with USD 45 and USD 3 per day for additional days.
• In the case of delay less than 150 days additional USD 5 per day as late fine.

Gratis Visa (Visa for Free)

Gratis Visa is issued free of cost in case of following categories of Visa applicants:

• Children below 10 years except US citizens
• Up to 30 days for SAARC Citizen (except Afghanistan) visiting Nepal for the first time in a given visa Year.  Afghan citizen are eligible for Gratis Visa on Arrival only upon the recommendation of Department of Immigration. If you are an Afghan citizen, you can request concerned institution inviting you to Nepal for necessary paperwork with Department of Immigration to get you Gratis Visa 'On Arrival'.
• Non Residential Nepalese(NRN) card holder ( issued by MoFA /Nepalese diplomatic missions abroad)
• Chinese Nationals

Officials from China, Brazil, Russia and Thailand do not need Entry Visa based on reciprocal visa waiver Agreement

Visas of all kinds including ‘Gratis’ issued at the Airport are Tourist Visas. Contact Department of Immigration for extending your visa or changing the category of your visa. Tourist Visa extension can be done from Immigration Office, Pokhara too. Non tourist visa extension can be done only at Department of Immigration (if eligible) for a period of maximum one year (except business visa).

Expert Tips

• The best idea to bring 3-4 passport photos from home as they come in handy for official documents or purchasing sim cards;
• Tribhuvan International Airport Kathmandu has bank counters where you can exchange currencies;
• Having a couple photocopies of your passport is always handy while traveling;
• While there are various payment methods now available in the Tribhuvan International airport along with the visa application kiosks, malfunctions can occur and we strongly recommend that you carry the correct money (US$ is recommended) and a passport photo with you just in case.