Nepal ID & Travel Document Fees Compared: Passport, NID, PAN, PCC, NRN

Nepalis and visitors regularly ask a simple question with a scattered answer: how much does each official document actually cost, and which ones are free? The fees for a passport sit with one ministry, citizenship with another, the national ID card with a third, tax registration with a fourth, and visas with a fifth. This page compiles the core identity and travel documents into a single reference so you can compare them at a glance rather than chasing seven separate fee schedules.

The documents covered here are the electronic passport (e-passport), the citizenship certificate (nagarikta), the National Identity Card (NID), the personal Permanent Account Number (PAN), the Police Clearance Certificate (PCC, also called the police character certificate), the Non-Resident Nepali (NRN) identity card, and the tourist visa. For each, the tables below give the official government fee, the issuing authority, the typical processing time, the validity period, and a plain free-or-paid flag.

One caveat up front: government fee schedules in Nepal change with each fiscal year (the Nepali fiscal year runs mid-July to mid-July, e.g. FY 2081/82 BS corresponds roughly to 2024/25 AD), and fees charged abroad at embassies and consulates differ from fees charged inside Nepal. Where a figure is indicative or location-dependent, this page says so. Always confirm the current amount on the relevant department's website or notice board before you pay.

The single most useful takeaway is that Nepal deliberately keeps its foundational identity documents free or near-free so that no citizen is priced out of legal identity, while charging for the travel-oriented and premium documents. The citizenship certificate, the National Identity Card and the personal PAN cost effectively nothing to obtain for the first time. The e-passport, the NRN card and the tourist visa are the paid documents in this cluster.

The table below summarises each document. Amounts inside Nepal are shown in Nepali Rupees (NPR / Rs); fees charged to applicants abroad are typically levied in US dollars and are noted separately in the sections that follow. Processing times assume a complete, error-free application; peak-season backlogs at the Department of Passports and busy District Administration Offices can extend them.

The Nepali e-passport is issued by the Department of Passports under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). Since 2021 Nepal has issued biometric electronic passports, and applicants can complete pre-enrolment online before biometric capture at the Department in Kathmandu or at a District Administration Office. From 2025 the National ID number is required as part of the passport application flow, tying the two documents together.

Inside Nepal, the ordinary 34-page booklet costs Rs 5,000 under normal processing (roughly 11 to 15 working days) or Rs 10,000 for fast-track service (about 3 working days). The larger 66-page booklet aimed at frequent travellers costs Rs 10,000 normal or Rs 20,000 fast-track. Applicants abroad pay in US dollars at the nearest embassy or consulate, and those rates (for example US$120 for a 34-page or US$240 for a 66-page ordinary passport, with different renewal and lost-passport rates by mission) are set separately from the in-Nepal schedule.

An adult ordinary e-passport is generally valid for 10 years; passports for minors carry shorter validity and reduced fees. Because the passport is the only paid document that most families buy repeatedly, it is worth choosing the page count and processing speed deliberately: the 66-page book only makes sense for very frequent travellers, and fast-track is a genuine time-versus-money trade-off rather than a queue-jump for its own sake.

Three of Nepal's most important documents are effectively free, and this is by design. The citizenship certificate (nagarikta) issued by the District Administration Office under the Ministry of Home Affairs carries no meaningful government fee — the practical cost is a nominal revenue stamp of around Rs 10 affixed to the application form. Citizenship is the gateway credential: you need it to obtain almost every other document on this page, and it is valid for life.

The National Identity Card (NID or National ID), issued by the Department of National ID and Civil Registration (DoNIDCR), is free for first-time enrolment. The department has kept a zero-fee policy for initial registration precisely to accelerate population coverage. Fees do appear for secondary services: a lost or damaged card is typically re-issued for around Rs 500, and applicant-side data corrections carry a small charge, while errors caused by the department are corrected free. So the honest answer to 'is the national ID card free in Nepal?' is yes for your first card, with modest charges only for replacements or corrections.

The personal PAN (Permanent Account Number) from the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) is also free of any government registration fee, whether you apply through the IRD taxpayer portal, the Nagarik App, or in person at a revenue office. A PAN is a nine-digit lifetime taxpayer identifier that does not expire. Any charge you encounter is a private agent's service fee, not a government fee — you can register yourself at no cost.

The Police Clearance Certificate (PCC), also known as the police character certificate, is issued by Nepal Police and is the document most often demanded for foreign employment, study visas and migration. The basic application through the official Online Police Clearance Report (OPCR) portal at opcr.nepalpolice.gov.np is free of charge, and straightforward applications are typically processed in a few working days after background verification.

The cost usually appears at the next stage. When a PCC must be used abroad, it commonly needs consular attestation or legalisation, and that attestation carries a fee (commonly around Rs 500 for MoFA-side attestation, plus any embassy verification fee charged in foreign currency by the destination country's mission). These downstream charges are separate from Nepal Police's free issuance and depend entirely on where and how you intend to use the certificate.

A PCC does not have a fixed statutory validity; instead, the authority receiving it — an embassy, employer or university — decides how recent it must be, and most treat a certificate older than three to six months as stale. If you are collecting documents for a visa or job, obtain the PCC late in the process so it is fresh when submitted.

The Non-Resident Nepali (NRN) identity card is a paid document facilitated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nepali diplomatic missions abroad, and its fee is genuinely tiered rather than a single figure. Broadly, Nepali nationals living abroad pay a relatively modest amount (on the order of Rs 1,500 if processed in Nepal, or a set US-dollar fee such as around US$70 at some missions), while foreign citizens of Nepali origin (PIO-type applicants) pay substantially higher US-dollar tiers that vary by region and mission — figures in the hundreds of dollars are common. Validity also differs by category, with the foreign-citizen NRN card commonly valid for up to 10 years. Because the amounts and categories differ so much between missions, always confirm the exact tier with the specific embassy or consulate you will apply through.

The tourist visa is issued by the Department of Immigration and is the simplest paid document for visitors. Standard on-arrival and online fees are USD 30 for 15 days, USD 50 for 30 days, and USD 125 for 90 days, and each tourist visa is multiple-entry within its paid period. Visa fees are paid in US dollars or convertible currency; carrying the exact amount is advisable at land and air entry points.

Several concessions apply. Nationals of SAARC countries and China are generally granted a gratis (free) visa for an initial period, children below a threshold age can be exempt, and Indian nationals do not require a visa to enter Nepal at all. Extensions are handled at Department of Immigration offices in Kathmandu and Pokhara, typically at a set fee for a minimum block of days plus a per-day charge beyond that, subable to an annual cap on total stay.

The most common way people overpay in Nepal is by routing free documents through paid agents. Citizenship, the National ID and personal PAN can all be obtained by the applicant directly at no government fee; any 'processing fee' you are quoted for these is an intermediary charge, not a state charge. For the PCC, the online OPCR application is free — pay only for attestation, and only if your destination actually requires it.

For the genuinely paid documents, match the tier to your real need. Choose the 34-page passport unless you truly travel often enough to fill it; reserve fast-track for real deadlines; and, for the tourist visa, buy the duration you will actually use rather than defaulting to 90 days, since extensions are available on the ground. For the NRN card, confirm your applicant category and the specific mission's current schedule before paying, because the difference between the Nepali-national tier and the foreign-citizen tier is large.

Finally, treat every figure on this page as a starting point rather than a receipt. Fee schedules are revised through the annual budget and departmental notices, foreign-currency amounts vary by mission, and special categories (minors, senior citizens, SAARC nationals, error-corrections) frequently change the price. The linked official portals — Department of Passports, DoNIDCR, IRD, Nepal Police OPCR, Department of Immigration and MoFA — are the authoritative source for the amount you will actually pay on the day.