Nepal Visa Categories: Types, Legal Basis, Duration & Fee Bands

A visa is the permit by which Nepal authorises a foreigner to enter and stay in the country. The governing statute is the Immigration Act, 2049 (1992), which defines a 'visa' as a permit issued by the Government of Nepal to a foreigner for entering into and staying in Nepal (Section 2(d)) and provides in Section 3(1) that no foreigner may enter and stay in Nepal without holding both a passport and a visa.

The Act does not itself list visa types. Instead, Section 3(2) states that 'the category, fees and other provisions relating to visas shall be as prescribed', and Section 18 empowers the Government to frame rules to accomplish the Act's objectives. Acting on this delegated authority, the Government issued the Immigration Rules, 2051 (1994), which enumerate the individual visa categories and set out their conditions. Together with subsequent immigration procedures and the official fee schedule published by the Department of Immigration, these two instruments form the legal backbone of every visa category described below.

The Director General of the Department of Immigration is empowered under Section 7 of the Act to issue and extend visas as prescribed, to cancel them in prescribed circumstances, and to manage entry, stay and departure. The 1992 Act replaced the older Foreigners Act, 2015 (1958), which it repealed (Section 19).

The tourist visa is the default category for foreigners visiting for leisure, sightseeing, trekking or other non-remunerative purposes. Under the Immigration Rules a tourist visa may be granted for a maximum of 150 days within a single visa year (the calendar year, January–December); unused days cannot be carried over to the next year, and the visa carries no right to work or do business. It is widely available on arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport and designated land borders, and via the official online application, in 15-, 30- and 90-day options with a multiple-entry facility.

A gratis (free-of-cost) visa is not a separate purpose but a fee waiver applied to certain tourist-visa applicants. Recognised gratis categories include children below 10 years (with passport-based exceptions for some nationalities), citizens of SAARC member states (other than, by separate arrangement, Afghan nationals) for the first 30-day visit in a visa year, Non-Resident Nepali (NRN) card-holders, and other groups designated by the Government. The Act also exempts from visa fees, under Section 13, foreigners detained or prosecuted during immigration investigations for the relevant period.

A transit visa allows a traveller who is merely passing through Nepal to leave the airport for a short stay — typically a single day (24 hours) — on production of a confirmed onward air ticket. It is the shortest category and is not intended for any activity beyond transit.

The non-tourist visa is an umbrella category for foreigners staying for a purpose other than tourism. Under the Rules it covers, among others, foreign employees of approved projects, development workers in government-approved programmes, foreign journalists, staff of foreign businesses, and family members of certain visa-holders; it is generally issued for a period not exceeding one year at a time and is renewable while the underlying purpose continues. Employment-based non-tourist (work) visas typically require a recommendation from the relevant line ministry and supporting employment documentation.

The business visa is provided specifically for foreign investors and their authorised representatives engaged in business in Nepal. It is distinguished from the work visa by being available for longer terms — up to five years at a time under the Rules — and its fee is structured in bands according to the size of the investment, with the largest investors qualifying for the most favourable treatment.

The study visa is granted to foreign students enrolling in approved institutions, and also covers teachers and researchers, together with their dependent family members. It is normally issued for one year initially and is renewable annually for the duration of the course, subject to a recommendation from the relevant authority (for students, the Ministry of Education) and proof of admission and adequate funds.

Marriage and relation visas fall within the non-tourist family provisions. A foreign national married to a Nepali citizen applies on the basis of a registered marriage certificate and the spouse's citizenship documents, and the visa is renewable while the relationship subsists. Related provisions extend to certain other family relatives of Nepali citizens or of foreign nationals holding qualifying Nepali visas.

The residential visa is for foreigners intending to make their life in Nepal. The Rules contemplate it for individuals capable of making an outstanding contribution to Nepal's economic, social or cultural development; for foreigners who invest a minimum of one hundred thousand US dollars (or convertible-currency equivalent) at one time in an industrial enterprise in Nepal; and for persons intending to live in Nepal without carrying on business, who must evidence a qualifying source of income in convertible foreign currency.

The Non-Residential Nepali (NRN) visa serves the Nepali diaspora. It is available to holders of an NRN card issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Nepal's diplomatic missions, and may be granted for a period not exceeding ten years at a time, with periodic renewal aligned to the validity of the NRN card. NRN card-holders are among the categories generally issued their visa free of charge.

Diplomatic and official visas form a distinct track for state and inter-governmental travel and are arranged largely on the basis of reciprocity and government-to-government understanding rather than ordinary fee schedules. A diplomatic visa requires the applicant to hold a diplomatic passport and to be recommended for the visa by the relevant foreign diplomatic mission.

An official visa is granted to administrative, technical and other non-diplomatic staff of diplomatic missions and consulates accredited to Nepal, to officials of the United Nations and recognised international institutions, and in defined cases to participants in official conferences and to certain consular personnel and their family members. Like diplomatic visas, official visas are typically valid for the duration of the relevant assignment and are issued on the recommendation of the sponsoring mission or organisation.

Visa fees and durations are fixed by regulation and the Department of Immigration's official fee schedule rather than being negotiable. As durable, regulation-set structure: tourist visas have long been priced by duration band (15-, 30- and 90-day options) with a multiple-entry facility; transit visas carry a nominal single-day fee; SAARC first-visits and several other categories are gratis; business-visa fees are banded by investment size with the very largest investments exempt; and study and other non-tourist visas are charged on a per-month basis. Because the exact monetary amounts can be revised, applicants should always confirm the current figures on the official Department of Immigration fee schedule before travelling.

Tourist visas obtained for a short period can be extended up to the 150-day annual ceiling, with extensions charged per day above a minimum extension fee; remaining within the legal stay matters because overstaying attracts daily penalties and, in serious cases, the Act provides for fines, prosecution and expulsion (Sections 9–10). Each non-tourist category is renewed on its own terms while the qualifying purpose — employment, study, investment, marriage or NRN status — remains valid.

In a programmatic directory, a hub page (the /visa table) lists every category side by side and links to a dedicated page per type — tourist, gratis, transit, non-tourist, business, study, work, marriage/relation, residential, NRN and diplomatic/official — with each page citing its legal basis, purpose, fee band, duration and renewal terms, and required documents, and carrying BreadcrumbList and FAQPage structured data for search engines.