Moving to Nepal: work visas, registration and practical setup

Choose the non-tourist route that matches the purpose

Nepal’s Department of Immigration states that only foreign nationals holding a Working Visa may accept employment. A tourist may remain while work-visa paperwork is processed, but cannot work during that wait. Nepal does not publish a digital-nomad or remote-work visa in its current category list, so working online for an overseas employer or client should not be assumed lawful on tourist, residential, NRN, ordinary study or dependent status; obtain an Immigration decision for the facts before doing the work.

The working route is multi-agency: the relevant government line agency recommends the case, the labour authority issues a work permit, and Immigration decides the visa. A narrow teaching branch exists under the Study Visa: teachers or professors performing academic work need the Ministry of Education recommendation, Home Ministry work agreement and Department of Labour work permit. Other students and researchers are prohibited from employment. A business investor should separately coordinate industry and investment approvals.

• Nepal Department of Immigration: visa information and non-tourist categories
• Nepal Department of Immigration: citizen charter and visa documents
• Nepal Department of Immigration: study, relationship and dependent visa FAQs

Make the sponsor own the approval chain

Before departure, obtain a written sequence for the line-ministry recommendation, Department of Labour work permit, any Home Ministry consent, appointment or contract, organisational tax clearance and Immigration application. Names, employer, role and dates must agree. Keep originals and scans of qualifications, police or medical records if requested, and legalised civil records for dependants.

Do not perform paid work on a tourist visa even if an application is progressing. Save the NepaliPort submission, current visa and approval receipts. If the employer, project or role changes, re-check all three agencies before starting the new arrangement.

• Nepal Department of Immigration: visa information and non-tourist categories
• Nepal Department of Immigration: citizen charter and visa documents

Record the entry, address and visa conditions

Check the entry stamp and online record immediately, then give Immigration the exact address and contact information required for the non-tourist application. Keep hotel receipts and the eventual lease with the passport, current visa and sponsor file. Nepal’s online portal supports applications and status tracking, but the underlying recommendation and originals still matter.

For housing, verify ownership or authority, inventory, water storage, backup power, heating, internet, access during monsoon conditions, maintenance and deposit return. Begin flexibly until the commute, road access and utilities are tested. Ask the landlord whether address evidence will be available for bank, tax and family administration.

• Nepal Department of Immigration: visa information and non-tourist categories

Get a PAN and maintain a defensible day count

Nepal’s current Income Tax Act treats an individual as resident where their normal abode is in Nepal or they are present for 183 days or more in a continuous 365-day period, among other rules. Nepal-source employment can still be taxed before that threshold. Track presence, work days, employer benefits and foreign income rather than using the visa label as a tax answer.

IRD guidance says a foreign citizen working, investing, practising a profession or doing business in Nepal should obtain PAN and can identify themselves with a passport or diplomatic identity document. Ask payroll for withholding and filing ownership, then keep PAN, payslips, tax deductions and clearance records because the immigration work file can require tax evidence.

• Nepal Inland Revenue Department: current Income Tax Act
• Nepal Inland Revenue Department: PAN guidance for foreign citizens

Use regulated banking and preserve foreign-exchange evidence

Nepal Rastra Bank says a foreign citizen in Nepal may open a convertible foreign-currency account at a Nepalese bank or financial institution and that the account may operate only for the visa period. Eligibility for a rupee, salary or other account and the customer documents are bank-specific. Take the passport, current visa, address, PAN and employer evidence requested by the bank.

Nepal regulates foreign exchange. Keep exchange receipts, inward-remittance evidence, payslips and tax clearance for later transfers or departure. Use licensed banks or authorised channels and retain an overseas payment fallback until local cards, transfers and mobile access are proven.

• Nepal Rastra Bank: foreign-currency accounts for foreign citizens
• Nepal Rastra Bank: foreign-exchange FAQs

Arrange healthcare and family services without assuming entitlement

A visa should not be treated as automatic enrolment in a comprehensive national health plan. Ask the employer precisely what insurance or Social Security Fund participation applies, when it starts, which hospitals can bill directly and how dependants are covered. Maintain appropriate interim cover and identify emergency, maternity, chronic-care and evacuation options, especially outside Kathmandu.

Carry marriage, birth, vaccination and previous-school records for dependants. A dependant of a Working Visa holder uses the principal’s line-ministry recommendation identifying that dependant and cannot take employment on dependent status. This is distinct from the official Relationship Visa for qualifying kin of a Nepali citizen, which instead requires a local-body relationship certificate, the Nepali kin’s citizenship certificate and that kin’s presence at Immigration. Relationship Visa holders also need work agreement and labour permission before paid or unpaid work.

The ordinary study-visa process requires education-ministry and institution evidence and does not permit employment. Only the academic-teaching branch described by Immigration can combine a Study Visa with teaching, after the three required approvals. Ask schools about curriculum, language support, calendar, transport and admission documents before choosing a neighbourhood.

• Nepal Department of Immigration: visa information and non-tourist categories
• Nepal Department of Immigration: study, relationship and dependent visa FAQs
• Nepal Social Security Fund: official services and registration support

Confirm local driving authority before using a vehicle

Do not assume a foreign licence or international permit is enough for a resident move. Ask the relevant transport-management office which Nepalese licence, recognition, test and visa or address evidence applies to the vehicle class. Rental-company acceptance is not a legal determination.

Road and seasonal conditions differ sharply. Before buying, resolve registration, insurance, transfer and tax records and test parking and access at the home. Keep transport documents aligned after an address or passport change.

Coordinate animal quarantine and renewals before expiry

Nepal’s Department of Livestock Services is the national authority for animal import and quarantine. Ask its Animal Quarantine Division or the arrival quarantine office for the current species-and-origin permit, health, vaccination and inspection requirements before booking a pet. Airline acceptance does not replace government import clearance.

Calendar passport, work permit, ministry recommendation, visa and dependant validity separately. Non-tourist extensions depend on continuing eligibility and current supporting records. Start with time to renew organisational and personal tax clearance, and contact Immigration before an employer, purpose, address or family change rather than waiting for expiry.

• Nepal Department of Livestock Services: Animal Quarantine Division
• Nepal Department of Immigration: visa information and non-tourist categories
• Nepal Department of Immigration: citizen charter and visa documents