Jobs

The sequence catches almost everyone, so start with it. Your employer obtains a work permit first, and the employment visa is issued on the basis of that permit - not the other way round. You cannot arrive, find a job and convert easily; the permit application is the employer's responsibility and it takes time they have to be willing to spend.

For the labour market itself - sectors, salary bands, how hiring works - jobs and career covers it. This page covers what is different because you are not a citizen.

The permission chain

Step	Who does it	Notes
Job offer	Employer	In writing, with the role defined
Work permit	Employer, with the labour authorities	Must show the role could not reasonably be filled locally
Employment visa	You, at the Department of Immigration	Issued on the strength of the permit
Renewal	Both, annually	Re-tests permit and employment

The visa is tied to that one employer. Changing jobs means the new employer repeats the whole process, so a job move here is heavier than it would be at home.

Who actually hires foreign nationals

Realistically, the roles that clear the "could not be filled locally" test cluster in a few places:

• International NGOs and development agencies - the largest single category, usually on project contracts tied to funding cycles.
• Embassies and international organisations - their own rules, often outside the ordinary permit system.
• International schools - teachers with the relevant curriculum experience.
• Hospitality at the upper end - hotels and established restaurants.
• Specialist technical and management roles - where a company genuinely needs a skill in short supply.
• Trekking and adventure businesses - though the guiding roles themselves are reserved in practice.

Casual work, retail, and general office roles are not realistic routes. Neither is turning up on a tourist visa and looking.

Teaching English

Commonly asked about, and worth being straight on: it exists, mostly in private schools and language institutes, and it is usually paid at or near local rates, which are low. Some positions are formalised with a proper permit and visa; many are not.

Working without a permit is a risk you carry, not the school. If you are considering it, ask explicitly how your visa will be handled before accepting, and treat a vague answer as an answer.

Pay

Foreign nationals in INGO and international-school roles are generally paid on scales well above the local market, sometimes with housing or schooling allowances. Foreign nationals in local companies are typically paid local rates, which come as a shock to people benchmarking against home.

Establish in writing whether the figure discussed is gross or net, whether tax is deducted at source, and whether you are enrolled in the Social Security Fund.

Remote work for an employer abroad

Many people live here while working for a company in another country. The honest position is that this sits in an area the rules were not written for, and the questions that matter are tax and immigration, which are separate.

On tax: spending most of the year here generally brings you within the Nepali tax net, and whether a double taxation agreement helps depends on your country. On immigration: a tourist visa does not contemplate it, and the long-term categories are tied to a local basis.

Take advice specific to your situation rather than relying on what other foreign residents tell you. Residence covers tax residency, and banking and finance covers receiving foreign income properly.

Volunteering

Volunteering is common and welcome, and it is not a way around the work rules. Established organisations will tell you what visa they expect you to hold; organisations that wave the question away are telling you something about how they operate generally.

Choose an organisation with a track record, and be wary of placements that charge large fees for the privilege.

What to confirm before accepting

Get these in writing, because each one is difficult to raise after you have started:

• Who applies for the work permit, and by when
• The gross salary, and what is deducted from it
• Whether you are enrolled in the Social Security Fund
• Probation length and the notice period on both sides
• Annual leave, sick leave and the public holidays observed
• Who pays for visa fees and renewals - often the employer, not always
• What happens to your visa if the job ends

That last question is the one nobody asks and everybody should. Your immigration status is tied to this employer, so the end of the job starts a clock.

If the job ends

The basis for your visa ends with the employment, whatever time is left on the sticker. There is normally a window to regularise - convert to another category, arrange a new employer's permit, or leave - and the right move is to go to the Department of Immigration promptly rather than wait.

Keep copies of the appointment letter, the work permit and your pay records. A future application, here or elsewhere, may need them, and obtaining them from a former employer afterwards is harder than it sounds.

Where this goes wrong

• Job hunting on a tourist visa. The permit is the employer's to obtain and takes time.
• Starting work before the permit exists. It is your status at risk, not the employer's.
• No appointment letter. Everything downstream depends on documentation you did not get.
• Assuming the visa moves with you to a new job. It does not.
• Guessing at the tax position on foreign income. Get it answered once, properly.

Where to go next

Residence covers the visa category and its renewal, and business covers the alternative route - investing in or starting a company rather than being employed by one.