If you are planning to travel, you should enlist Nepal as one of your choices. For various reasons, Nepal is the perfect place to spend your vacation. Whether to enjoy a relaxing holiday or have an adventurous journey, Nepal can provide just what you need.
Traveling to Nepal is easy. Due to the full accessibility of the Internet, you can easily book to participate in any adventurous activities in Nepal. After you decide what to do in Nepal, the only thing remaining is to issue a visa.
Issuing a Visa for Nepal is a rather straightforward process. For almost all countries except a few, there are two ways to get a visa to visit Nepal. You can either apply for a Visa to Nepal through the Nepalese embassy/consulate stationed in your country or get your visa on arrival at the international airport in Kathmandu. We will discuss more on how to get Visa for Nepal further in this blog.
Types of Visa
Firstly, there are various types of visas available for foreigners to issue, depending on their objective of travel. The different types of Visas are tourist visas, non-tourist visas, study visas, business visas, and residential visas. One particular kind of visa besides this is the Gratis Visa. The Gratis visa is a free granted visa that allows a stay of 30 days for citizens of South Asian countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
If you are planning to travel for a holiday, you will probably be requiring a tourist visa. As mentioned above, there are two ways you can issue this visa. If you are a citizen of India, you do not need a visa to travel to Nepal. You will only require your passport and/or your election committee card.
Getting Visa to Nepal
Almost all countries can choose between the two given methods to issue a visa. Only the nationals from the following countries are required to issue a visa through the locally stationed embassy/consulate of Nepal: Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Cameroon, Somalia, Liberia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, and refugees with travel documents.
Visa through Online Portal
The online portal provided by the Department of Immigration offers application forms for all types of Visas. You can access this website online portal provided.
You can either submit this form online or visit the embassy with the required documents such as passports, passport size pictures, and applied fee charges for the visa.
While paying for the visa, only the following currencies are accepted: Euro, Swiss Franc, Pound Sterling, US Dollar, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Hong Kong Dollar, Singapore Dollar, and Japanese Yen. Upon completing the payment, you will get your Visa to Nepal. You will have to enter Nepal within six months of issuing this visa. Your day count begins once you are in Nepal.
Visa on Arrival
The alternate method to obtain the visa is on arrival. To date, there is only one international airport in Nepal. The Tribhuvan International Airport at Kathmandu welcomes all international flights to the capital city before anywhere else in Nepal. Here, you will find the Immigration Office desk waiting to receive you.
At the desk, a Tourist Visa form will be handed to you. You can also obtain this form online and fill it out prior to your arrival. If you choose to fill it out online, you will receive a submission receipt with a barcode. Print the barcode and submit it to the desk. The barcode will only be valid for fifteen days. Once you submit the form by either method, you will be required to submit the payment respective to the duration of the visa. After completing the payment, you are now ready to enter the country legally.
Key information for visa on arrival
If you are opting for a visa on arrival, you must keep in mind that depending on the time of travel, the queue line for obtaining a visa can vary. For peak tourism seasons, this line can get very long. Obtaining a visa can take quite a while during such seasons. Peak travel seasons generally occur from March to May and August to December. Hence, if you wish to avoid long queues, you can opt for the first method to obtain your visa.
Visa Validity and Cost
Like all countries, the visa cost depends on the type and duration of visa validity.
The minimum cost for a tourist visa in Nepal is 30 US dollars. The visa is valid for 15 days.
For a 30-day and 90-day visa, there will be a charge of 50 USD and 125 USD, respectively.
You are also allowed to extend your visa by a minimum of 15 days. A charge of 3 USD per day for an extension for the visa is applicable. Children under ten years of age do not require a visa. Also, citizens of the countries belonging to the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) except Afghanistan do not need to pay for their visas.
Visa for Nepal for US citizen
If you are a citizen of the United States, you will need a Visa to travel to Nepal. Moreover, citizens of all countries except for India, need to issue a visa to visit Nepal. Issuing a Visa for Nepal isn't tricky. There are two ways to obtain a Visa for Nepal, as mentioned above.
Requirements for Visa to Nepal for US citizen
To issue a Visa, the first thing you need is a passport that has three to six months of remaining validity. If your passport does not meet this requirement, you cannot process for a Visa. Make sure you comply with this term and are aware of this fact before you travel to Nepal.
If you plan on obtaining a Visa on arrival, but your passport does not meet the validity date standards, you cannot enter Nepal.
The next thing you require is to complete the Visa application form. To complete this form, you will need to provide various personal identification details along with two passport size pictures. Once you have everything in place, you will need to make the payment according to the Visa type and duration.
Applying for a Visa
To apply for a Visa to Nepal as a US citizen, you have two different options. The first method is to visit the embassy of Nepal, located in your country, and complete the required steps. The alternate method is to obtain a Visa on arrival. For both ways, you will have to fill out the same form that you can find at Nepal Embassy.
If you live near a Nepalese embassy/consulate, you can submit the Visa application by hand. Otherwise, you may also ship the application via mail. This visa will be valid for six months. You must enter Nepal within six months of the date of the issue.
Depending on how you submit your application, the payment shall be made by a bank deposit or a money order. If the payment is in the form of a money order, it must have at least a one-year validity period. The money order should be made payable to the Embassy of Nepal. Do not forget to mention your full name and address on order.
For the visa on arrival, you have two ways to complete this method. If you choose to fill out the application online, you will get a submission receipt as a barcode that you should show at the international airport in Nepal.
The alternate method is to complete the application once you arrive at the Tribhuvan International airport. The Nepalese government has made visa applications for travelers very efficient and comfortable. However, a visa on arrival is only allowed for tourist Visas.
The Visa fee depends on the type and duration of the visa. The three different durations for Visa to Nepal are 15 days, 30 days, and 90 days with fee charges of USD 30, 50, and 125, respectively. You can also make extensions to your Visa validity. The minimum extensions you can make is of 15 days whereas, the maximum is 150 days. Extending costs are USD 3 per day. Make sure you receive the payment submission receipt as you might need to show it later during the travel.
If you plan on visiting other countries during your stay, you can switch from a regular tourist visa to a multiple-entry visa by changing the application. This will cost an additional USD 20. You may also do this at the Immigration Office desk at the airport.
You can find the location of the local embassies by searching them online. Nepalese Embassies are located in Washington DC, Sun Valley, Idaho, San Francisco, California, Chicago, Illinois, Boston, Massachusetts, Baltimore, Maryland, and New York City.
Visa Fees on Arrival and Extensions
Visa can be extended for those who wish to stay for more than 60 days at the Department of Immigration in Kalikasthan, Dillibazar, Kathmandu. Children under 10 years need not pay any visa fee. Two passport size photographs are essential.
15 days
US$ 30 or equivalent convertible currency
30 days
US$ 50 or equivalent convertible currency
90 days
US$ 125 or equivalent convertible currency
Tourist Visa Extension
- Tourist Visa extension minimum for 15 days with USD 45 and USD 3 per day for additional days.
- In the case of a delay of fewer than 150 days, an additional USD 5 per day is a late fine.
For more details about Transit Visa and Gratis (Free) Visa kindly goes through the link:
For further information, please, contact the Department of Immigration.
Location: Kalikasthan, Dillibazar, Kathmandu.
+977-01-4529659, 4429660
+977-01-4433935, 4433934
Email: mail@immi.gov.np
Web: http://www.nepalimmigration.gov.np/
Conclusion:
Getting a Visa to Nepal is a natural process. As the country aims to boost its tourism industry, the government has employed many services to promote the quick processing of Visas and make travel easier. If you want more information about visas and the procedures, you can visit the Nepal Immigration office at Kaliksthan, Dillibazaar, Kathmandu.
