Online Visa and Immigration Services for Nepal: Application, Extension and TIMS/Trekking Permit Guide

Nepal's Department of Immigration operates a centralized online platform, the NepaliPort system, reached at nepaliport.immigration.gov.np. It is the government's single gateway for the immigration formalities most visitors and foreign residents need, and it is linked from the Department's main site at immigration.gov.np. Rather than completing paper forms only at the airport or an immigration office, applicants can begin many processes online and then complete payment and biometric or document checks in person.

The portal groups several distinct services. These cover the online (E-TA) tourist-visa application for travellers arriving by air, the on-arrival visa process at entry points, tourist-visa extension, visa conversion (changing visa category), and visa transfer between passports. A separate trekking-agency portal supports trekking-permit processing, and the Department has added digital tracking features such as a Digital Time Card. Because the system is run by the government, it is the authoritative channel; the Department and Nepal Tourism Board both warn against unofficial intermediaries and look-alike websites.

The online tourist-visa application lets a traveller enter passport, travel and personal details ahead of time. On submission the system generates a receipt containing a barcode, which the applicant prints or saves and emails to themselves; it is presented to the immigration officer on arrival in Nepal. Using the pre-filled barcoded receipt shortens queueing because the officer can scan the application instead of re-keying the data.

Timing matters: the online pre-fill is valid for only 15 days, so it should not be completed more than 15 days before the intended date of arrival, or it will expire and have to be redone. For most nationalities the visa itself is still issued and the fee paid at the point of entry; the online step is a convenience that speeds processing rather than a fully issued e-visa. Nationals of a small number of specified countries are excluded from the on-arrival route and must obtain a visa in advance from a Nepali embassy or consulate.

Nepal issues multiple-entry tourist visas in three standard durations. The published fees are USD 30 for 15 days, USD 50 for 30 days, and USD 125 for 90 days, payable in US dollars or another major convertible currency. Fees are durable policy figures set by the Department of Immigration and apply whether the application is pre-filled online or completed on arrival.

Several groups receive a gratis (free) visa. These include children under 10 years of age (except US citizens), nationals of SAARC countries other than Afghanistan visiting Nepal for the first time in a given visa year for up to 30 days, Chinese nationals, and holders of a Non-Resident Nepali (NRN) card issued by Nepal's authorities. Indian nationals do not need a tourist visa at all. Afghan citizens may obtain a gratis visa on the recommendation of the Department of Immigration.

Visitors who wish to stay longer can extend a tourist visa online through the Department's portal and then complete the process at the Department of Immigration in Kathmandu or the Immigration Office in Pokhara. The extension fee is USD 45 for a minimum of 15 days, plus USD 3 for each additional day. The total tourist stay is limited to 150 days within a single calendar (visa) year; staying beyond a visa's validity attracts a late fine on the order of USD 5 per day in addition to the normal extension cost.

The portal also handles visa conversion, used to move from one visa category to another (for example to a business or non-tourist category) where the applicant qualifies. A visa transfer is needed when a traveller obtains a new passport while holding a valid Nepali visa: the unexpired visa must be transferred into the new passport by the Department of Immigration. Travellers are warned not to copy or move a visa between passports themselves, as doing so is treated as an offence under Nepali law.

Trekking in Nepal generally requires a Trekkers' Information Management System (TIMS) card, administered by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) alongside the Department of Immigration's entry rules. TIMS records who is trekking, on which route and when, feeding a database used for search-and-rescue coordination and tourism statistics. The card is obtained online through the NTB system (tims.ntb.gov.np), and a successful payment generates an e-card carrying a QR code for each trekker.

The current published TIMS fee is NPR 1,000 for nationals of SAARC countries and NPR 2,000 for other foreign nationals; an earlier independent-trekker rate for SAARC nationals was NPR 600, which is why that figure still circulates. Since 31 March 2023, many trekking areas require trekkers to be accompanied by a licensed guide, and TIMS cards are therefore generally issued through government-registered trekking agencies rather than directly to individuals. The TIMS card is separate from, and additional to, national-park and conservation-area entry permits (such as those for the Annapurna and Sagarmatha regions) and from restricted-area permits, which carry their own fees.

The visa and trekking systems are deliberately complementary: the immigration portal governs entry, length of stay and legal status, while the Nepal Tourism Board's TIMS system governs movement on trekking routes. A typical independent traveller therefore pre-fills the tourist-visa application online, pays the visa fee on arrival, extends the visa online if staying longer, and arranges a TIMS card (and any park or restricted-area permits) before heading to the mountains.

Because fees, exempt categories and trekking rules are periodically revised by the Government of Nepal, applicants should confirm the latest figures and any newly excluded nationalities directly on the official sites before travelling. The authoritative sources are the Department of Immigration (immigration.gov.np and nepaliport.immigration.gov.np) for visas and the Nepal Tourism Board (ntb.gov.np) for TIMS and trekking guidance; using these official channels avoids the unofficial intermediaries the authorities caution against.