Getting Your Visa for Nepal (Visa processing)

Facts about Nepal Earthquake

A strong (7.8) earthquake hit Nepal in the area near Barpak, a mountain village between capital Kathmandu and tourist town Pokhara. The earthquake was followed by many powerful aftershocks and a very powerful one (6.7) hit Nepal on Sunday April 26.

The earthquakes caused extensive damage to buildings and thousands of deaths and injuries and was even felt in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

Many (historic) buildings collapsed, temples have been ruined, roads destroyed. Nearly 8000 deaths in Nepal and tens of deaths in India & Tibet. The quake was followed by more than 430 aftershocks and another huge earthquake (6.8) on May 12.

Heading to Nepal? Everyone needs a visa (except Indian nationals), but luckily it’s an easy process. Here’s the latest information on obtaining a tourist visa and how it works for visa-on-arrival.

Obtaining A Tourist Visa

The easiest way to get a tourist visa for Nepal is by applying on your arrival, but you can also apply in advance. Here are the three current ways to obtain your Nepal visa:

Apply upon your arrival at Kathmandu’s international airport (TIA);
At any of the land border crossings open to foreigners (each has an Immigration office);
Or apply at one of Nepal’s foreign consulates from abroad, in advance.

Price & Duration

There are three options for the length of a tourist visa (for nationals of SAARC countries, the first 30 days is free):

15 days - $25 USD
30 days - $40 USD
90 days - $100 USD
Multiple-entry - $20 USD (useful if going back-and-forth between Tibet/India)

Visa-On-Arrival

You’ll find visa application forms in the arrivals’ hall, as well as electronic registration machines that read your passport, take your photo, and print out a completed form to submit to immigration. Just in case, be sure to have the following items handy:

One passport-sized photo with a light background;
Cash to pay the visa fee (USD is best, 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.

Please note that the following nationalities cannot obtain a visa-on-arrival: AFG, IRQ, CMR, GHA, SOM, SWZ, PSE, ZWE, NGA, ETH, and LBR.

Expert tip: Fill out your disembarkation card on the plane so you can quickly move through the queue in the arrivals’ lounge.

Apply Online (In Advance)

Since 2014, you can apply for a tourist visa online within 15 days of your date of arrival in Nepal. You’ll need the address of your hotel and a recent digital version of a passport-sized photo that you can upload to the application. Once you’ve submitted the form, print out the confirmation receipt and show this to the Immigration officer upon arrival along with your passport and the proper amount to pay for your visa.

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

Extending Your Visa

You can extend your Nepal visa for up to 150 days at the Immigration Department in Kathmandu or Pokhara. It costs $30 for 15 days, and $2 per day after that. Usually the turn-around is the same day, and you’ll need to submit your passport, extension fee, one photo and the application extension form to complete the process.

A Few Useful Tips

It’s a good idea to bring 4-5 passport photos from home for your visa & trekking permit applications, and official documents;
Kathmandu's airport has bank counters where you can exchange currencies;
It also has a photo booth to create passport-sized photos, if you forgot to bring some;
Having a couple photocopies of your passport is always handy while traveling;
Bring extra USD cash and convert a small amount at the airport to pay for your taxi to Thamel, where you can convert the rest at a better exchange rate.