Visiting Nepal: Legal formalities

May people around the world rightly consider Nepal as “tourist paradise”. Nepal smiles welcome to all the visitors. Planning a trip to Nepal entails the necessity of knowing legal procedures for entering and travelling in the country. Legal formalities to be observed are, presented below.

Visa & Passports

No foreigner, except Indian national, may enter Nepal without valid passport and visa. However, a foreigner having valid passport may obtain tourist visa from immigration office at entry points mentioned below. Visa may be obtained from embassy or consulate general’s office of Nepal at the home country of the tourists.

A person holding diplomatic passport and this family shall be awarded diplomatic visa. Persons working at Embassy or offices in accordance with the agreement with the Government of Nepal.

Nepal shall be awarded official visa. Tourist are provided tourist visa whereas persons other than mentioned above like students, businessmen, teachers, researchers employees and investors are provided non-tourist visa.

Entry and exit points

Tourists may enter Nepal only from the entry points declared open by the Government of Nepal. The entry points are:-

  1. Tribhuvan International airport, Kathmandu
  2. Kakarvitta, Jhapa (Eastern part of Nepal)
  3. Birgunj, Parsa (Central part of Nepal)
  4. Sino-Nepal boarder point Kodari (northern) border in the central (part of Nepal )
  5. Bhairahawa, Rupandehi (western part of Nepal)
  6. Nepalgunj, Banke (mid-western part of Nepal)
  7. Dhangadi, Kailali (far-western part of Nepal)
  8. Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur (far-western part of Nepal)

Tourist Visa

There is no visa fee applicable to the passport holder of member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) for 30 days. Indian nationals do not currently need a visa to enter Nepal. A 30 days tourist visa is given to the visitors a point of entry upon payment of allocated amount for single entry. As the visa on entry is granted for one month, after this period per day fine is charged for extension of the visa for the second and third month.

15 days – US $ 25.00 for 15 days single/multiple entry. 30 days – US $ 40.00 for 30 days single/multiple entry. 90 days – US $ 100.00 for 90 days single/multiple entry. The department of immigration can extend a tourist visa. Additional one-month visa can be granted to the visitors who wish visa extension beyond a period of three months. The four-month stay for tourists coming to Nepal is applicable for one calendar year. i.e. January to December.

Visitors will not be allowed re-entry into Nepal until it is a month since their departure from the country completing a three months’ period. A tourist cannot stay in Nepal over a cumulative four-month’s period over the course of one year. If a tourist wants to enter before the 30 days period since his departure if the tourist has stayed on the same visa for a year the first month US $ is charged. If you wish for your tourist visa to be multiple entry an additional USD $20 is payable (90 day visa includes this fee but be sure to ask when paying that it’s a multi-entry visa).

 

Additional visas and fees:

Business visas are USD $30 for one month – $300 for one year or $1000 for 5 years. Student visas are USD $75 per year. Non-tourist visas are USD $100 per year. Residential visas are USD $200 first year and $100 thereafter.

 

The article credit: Tourist information Directory, Late Er. Ramesh Chandra Bandhu Bhattarai. MA Sociologist & Anthropologist.

Feature image credit: https://www.instagram.com/rosancha/

 

 

 

 

 

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  1. […] Nepal is a beautiful land locked country and also considered as a tourist paradise. Nepal is a land of diverse topography, climate, ethnicity and biodiversity. The hospitality served in Nepal could be found nowhere else. Nepal goes by quotes, that states, “ Atithi Devo Bhava”, which mean, guests represents angels of Gods and considered to be treaded with the best hospitality. From the smaller mountains to the World’s highest peak, The Mount Everest is located in Nepal. Thick jungles where elephants, rhinos and tigers roam in the wildlife reserves and national parks of Nepal has not failed tourist and if you are lucky you might be able to get a glimpse of a rare animals like Rhino. A personal Shangrila awaits every visitor who travels to this enchanted wonderland.Here are the three of the best places to visit when you are in Nepal.The Kathmandu ValleyThe exotic Valley of Kathmandu is surrounded by green hills above which, to the north, tower the mighty snow-capped peaks. Three main cities of great historic and cultural interest- Kathmandu (the capital of Nepal), Patan and Bhaktapur house numerous shrines, temples, palaces, squares and ageless sculptures making Kathmandu a living museum.In the suburbs of Kathmandu are located Nagarkot and Dhulikel, which is about an hour drive from Kathmandu. The breath-taking view of Himalaya from these places is mesmerizing and would leave you speechless. Not only Himalaya, from some of the spots view of terraced hills and the valley. Usually, local tourists or people visiting Nepal from abroad stay overnight, which provides amazing sunrise and sunset view with the possibilities of few hiking trails.Pokhara ValleyPokhara is one of the most picturesque places of Nepal. Lovely lakes enhance the beauty of Pokhara, stunningly close views of the magnificent Machhapuchhre (Fishtail) and the Annapurna mountains and the amazing Peace Pagoda to meditate.Pokhara has three most popular caves, a bat cave, Mahendra Cave and Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave. All of the three caves are popular for different reasons. In the bat cave, you would be able to see hundreds of bats hanging by the celling of the cave. Usually, visitors are quiet when they are in the cave. Similarly, Davis fall could be seen from inside the Gupteshwor Mahadev Cave. An idol of Lord Shiva has been build in the cave, as Mahadev represents the lord Shiva. When in Pokhara, you could also trek to the popular base camps like Annapurna Base Camp, Mardi Mountain, Machhapuchre Mountain and more. Pokhara is also popular for lakeside and the night life.LumbiniOne of the very popular destinations for tourists visiting Nepal and the local tourists specially Buddhists from all over the world visit Lumbini.  It is also known, as the birthplace of Lord Buddha is located in the Western part of Nepal. The age-old Ashoka Pilar, remants of old monasteries and palaces and images of Mayadevi, Buddha’s mother, are few of the major attractions in Lumbini.Nepal, the natural beauty, Himalayas and the valley that would leave you speechless and you would want to visit this small land locked country again and again. Different culture, religions and food to taste, Nepal is full of life. If you are visiting Nepal anytime soon, do read to Visiting Nepal: Legal formalities. […]

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