Most arrival guides list what you need. This one lists the order. Do these steps out of sequence and you will be sent back to an office you already visited.
Nepal is generous to new arrivals in one way and unforgiving in another. The visa is easy. Everything downstream of the visa - a SIM, a bank account, a lease - depends on paperwork you may not have thought to bring, and each office will send you home for the one thing you are missing.
This is the sequence that works. Follow it in order.
Week 1 - the airport and the essentials
Visa on arrival
Tribhuvan International Airport issues tourist visas on arrival for most nationalities. Use the kiosks in the arrivals hall, or fill the form online within fifteen days of travel to skip a queue.
| Duration | Fee (USD) |
|---|---|
| 15 days | 30 |
| 30 days | 50 |
| 90 days | 125 |
Pay in cash if you can. Card machines at the airport fail often enough that the cash counter is the faster line. Bring the exact amount in clean notes.
Take the 30-day visa even for a two-week trip. Extensions are charged at a higher daily rate than the original visa, so the longer visa is cheaper than extending a short one.
A SIM card
Ncell and Nepal Telecom both have counters in the arrivals hall. You need your passport and one passport photo. Counter staff will register the SIM against your passport number, which is a legal requirement, not an upsell.
Coverage differs outside the valley: Nepal Telecom reaches further into the hills, Ncell is usually faster in Kathmandu and Pokhara. If you plan to trek, buy Nepal Telecom.
Somewhere to sleep for two weeks
Do not sign a lease in your first week. Book a guesthouse or serviced apartment in Thamel, Jhamsikhel or Boudha and use those two weeks to learn what the traffic, water supply and noise are like in each area at the hours you actually live in them.
Week 2 - money
Opening a bank account
Most commercial banks will open an account for a foreigner holding a valid visa, but the visa type decides how much friction you meet. Tourist visa holders are often refused; business, study, work and non-tourist visa holders are usually accepted.
Bring:
- Passport and the visa page
- Two passport photographs
- A letter from your employer, university or landlord confirming your address
- Your PAN, if you have one
Ask specifically for internet banking and a debit card at the time of opening. Adding them later means a second visit and another form.
Wallets
Download eSewa or Khalti. A large share of Nepali daily commerce - utility bills, top-ups, cinema tickets, ride payments - moves through these two, and many small vendors prefer a wallet transfer to cash.
Week 3 - housing
Rents in Kathmandu are negotiated, not listed. A flat advertised at NPR 30,000 will often go for 25,000 if you are staying a year and pay on time.
What a standard tenancy looks like:
- Deposit: one to three months, returned at the end minus damages
- Agreement: twelve months, renewable, often renegotiated annually
- Utilities: electricity and water are yours; internet is separate
- Notice: one month, both directions
Get the agreement in writing even if the landlord shrugs at the idea, and take photographs of the meter readings and existing damage on the day you move in.
Ask one question before you sign: how many hours a day does the water tank fill? In parts of the valley the municipal supply reaches a house twice a week, and the answer decides whether you will be buying tanker water every month.
Week 4 - the long-term paperwork
If you intend to stay beyond the tourist visa, this is the week to start, not the week your visa expires.
- Visa conversion - a non-tourist visa requires a sponsor: an employer, an institution or a registered company. Start the sponsor letter early; it is always the slow document.
- Work permit - handled by the Department of Labour, separate from the visa, and required before you legally start work.
- PAN registration - needed for salary, contracts and most formal payments.
- Local registration - some municipalities ask foreign residents to register at the ward office. Your landlord will know.
The documents to carry everywhere
Keep a folder, physical and digital, with:
- Passport bio page and current visa page
- Ten passport photographs (you will run out twice)
- Your lease agreement
- Employer or institution letter
- Copies of everything, because every office keeps one
Nepali offices run on photocopies. There is a shop with a copier within fifty metres of every government building in the country, and joining that queue costs you an hour you did not plan for.
What to expect
Things take longer than the stated time and cost roughly what you were told. Officials are generally helpful if you arrive early, bring copies and are patient. Arrive at 10:00 rather than 14:00 - most government offices process the day's files in the morning and slow considerably after lunch.
Stay current
Get told when these rules change
One short email a month covering visa rules, fees and new guides.
