Tourist Visas
Most visitors to Nepal arrive on a tourist visa, available on arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport (and most land border crossings) for the majority of nationalities, requiring a passport, passport photo, and the visa fee in cash. Tourist visas are issued in multiple-entry, multiple-duration options — commonly 15, 30, or 90 days — priced according to length, and can be extended from within Nepal through the Department of Immigration if you want to stay longer than your initial visa allows.
Extensions are processed at immigration offices in Kathmandu and a handful of other cities, and the process, while bureaucratic, is generally manageable if you start it before your current visa expires rather than waiting until the last day, since overstaying carries fines calculated per day of overstay.
Tourist Visa Durations
| Duration | Typical Use Case |
|---|---|
| 15 days | Short trip, single trek |
| 30 days | Standard tourist visit, most common choice |
| 90 days | Extended stay, multiple treks, slower travel |
Student Visas
Foreign students enrolled in a recognized Nepali institution — university, language school, or approved program — can apply for a student visa, which generally requires an enrollment letter from the institution, proof of sufficient funds to support your stay, and standard identification documents. Student visas typically need to be renewed periodically (often annually) for the duration of a longer academic program, and the institution often assists with this renewal process since they have an interest in their international students maintaining legal status.
Students on short language courses (a few weeks) frequently use a standard tourist visa instead, since formal student visa processing isn't proportionate to a brief course — checking with your specific language school about which visa category they recommend for your program length is the most reliable way to confirm the right approach for your situation.
Work Visas
Work visas in Nepal are tied to employer sponsorship — an individual generally cannot apply for a work visa independently without a Nepali employer initiating the labor permit and visa process on their behalf. This means the work visa process is, practically speaking, inseparable from securing employment first, and most legitimate employers experienced in hiring foreign staff will guide new hires through the specific documentation required.
Required documents typically include the employment contract, the employer's labor permit application, educational and professional credentials (sometimes requiring certified translation), and standard identification — and because this list varies by sector and specific employer, confirming the exact requirements with your prospective employer's HR or administrative team before assuming a generic checklist applies is the most reliable approach.
Trekking Permits and Restricted Area Permits
Separate from your entry visa, many trekking regions in Nepal require additional permits — the TIMS (Trekkers' Information Management System) card for most popular routes, and specific restricted-area permits for regions like Upper Mustang, Manaslu, or parts of the Everest region near the Tibetan border, which involve additional fees and sometimes a requirement to trek with a licensed guide.
These permits are separate from, and in addition to, your tourist visa, and conflating the two is a common point of confusion for first-time trekkers. Most trekking agencies handle permit arrangements as part of a booked trek, but independent trekkers need to research and arrange the correct permits for their specific route well before departure, since some restricted-area permits require advance processing time.
Common Trekking Permits
| Permit | Required For |
|---|---|
| TIMS Card | Most independent trekking routes |
| Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP) | Annapurna region treks |
| Sagarmatha National Park Permit | Everest region treks |
| Restricted Area Permit | Upper Mustang, Manaslu, and other border-adjacent regions |
Visa Extensions and Overstay Penalties
Extending a tourist visa from within Nepal is handled at Department of Immigration offices, primarily in Kathmandu, and generally requires your passport, the extension fee (calculated by additional days requested), and a simple application form. Processing is usually completed same-day or within a short turnaround, making it considerably more convenient than many travelers initially assume.
Overstaying without an approved extension results in a per-day fine, calculated and paid at the immigration office or airport upon departure, and while this is a manageable, well-established process for short overstays, it is not a substitute for proper extension planning, since longer or repeated overstays can complicate future visa applications to Nepal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I extend a tourist visa indefinitely by leaving and re-entering Nepal?
Nepal does have rules around maximum cumulative tourist visa days within a calendar year, and repeatedly exiting and re-entering specifically to reset visa duration (sometimes called "visa runs" in other countries) is not a reliable long-term strategy in Nepal — checking current cumulative-day limits with the Department of Immigration is essential if you're hoping to stay significantly longer than a standard tourist visa allows.
How much do Nepal visa fees typically cost?
Tourist visa fees scale with duration (15, 30, or 90 days) and are paid in cash, typically in US dollars, at the point of entry. Student and work visa fees and requirements vary more by category and individual circumstance, and checking Nepal's official Department of Immigration resources for current fee schedules before traveling is more reliable than relying on potentially outdated third-party information, since fees can change.
Do I need a separate permit for every trekking region, or does one permit cover all of Nepal?
Permits are generally region-specific, not blanket nationwide passes — trekking in the Annapurna region requires its specific conservation area permit, while Everest region trekking requires the Sagarmatha National Park permit, and so on. Researching the specific permit requirements for your planned route, ideally through a trekking agency or Nepal's official tourism board resources, avoids being turned back at a checkpoint without the correct paperwork.
What happens if I overstay my Nepal visa by just a day or two?
A short overstay is generally resolved by paying the calculated per-day fine at the airport during departure or at an immigration office, and is a routine, well-understood process for genuinely minor overstays. That said, it is far simpler and stress-free to extend in advance if you know you'll need more time, rather than relying on the overstay-fine process as a backup plan.