Nepal visa on arrival for 2026 — USD fee bands for 15/30/90 days, online form barcode tips, Kathmandu airport flow, extensions, trek timing and a VERIFY checklist before Everest or Annapurna.
How does Nepal visa on arrival work in 2026?
Most tourist nationalities can obtain a multiple-entry tourist visa on arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport and other designated entry points. Official fee bands are commonly US$30 for 15 days, US$50 for 30 days and US$125 for 90 days. Pre-filling the online form saves queue time.
Nepal’s Department of Immigration describes on-arrival tourist visas as the standard entry visa even when you later change category for study or other purposes. That means trekkers, family visitors and holiday travellers usually start in the same payment line. whether your nationality is excluded from on-arrival — a minority of passports must apply at a mission first.
Start planning in the visa checker, then read immigration.gov.np for fee tables and form links. For trek logistics after the stamp, continue with Everest Base Camp trek guide or Annapurna Circuit guide.
Some nationalities enjoy limited visa exemptions with their own stay caps. Do not assume a friend’s Brazilian or Thai exemption applies to you. Confirm exemption lists on the same official pages as the fee table. Visa-free countries index 2026 explains why league tables still need pairwise checks.
If your Himalaya trip sits beside a Sri Lanka beach week, compare pre-travel authorisations in Sri Lanka ETA guide — Nepal’s on-arrival cash step is a different muscle memory.
Kathmandu arrival mornings after overnight Gulf or Southeast Asian connections are when tired travellers make fee-band mistakes. Decide 15 vs 30 vs 90 days before you land, write the USD amount on a sticky note in your passport wallet, and do not renegotiate with yourself in the bank queue.
What fees and stay lengths should trekkers budget?
Budget the official USD fee for the longest stay you might realistically need, not the shortest optimistic itinerary. Weather, altitude rest days and flight delays eat 15-day visas quickly. Extensions exist but cost money and office time in Kathmandu.
Department of Immigration fee snapshots used in 2026 planning materials list US$30 / US$50 / US$125 for 15 / 30 / 90-day tourist visas on arrival, with multiple re-entry facility on those visas. the live table the week you fly — fees can change by circular.
Extension notes commonly cite a minimum extension length with a base fee plus per-day amounts, and separate late fines if you overstay. Those numbers belong in your contingency sheet beside helicopter evacuation insurance. See how to extend a visa abroad.
Annual maximum stay rules can cap how long tourist status may accumulate across multiple entries. Long-stay dreamers who plan to ‘just keep extending’ should read the official ceiling language before quitting a flat lease at home. the current annual day limit for tourist visas.
| Visa length | Illustrative fee | Best for | Risk if too short | Extension hint |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 days | US$30 — VERIFY | Short city + Pokhara dashes | No buffer for flight delays | Extend in Kathmandu if eligible |
| 30 days | US$50 — VERIFY | Most classic treks with buffer | Still tight for EBC + illness days | Common upgrade path |
| 90 days | US$125 — VERIFY | Long circuits, volunteering tourism | Higher upfront cash need | Watch annual maximum stay rules — VERIFY |
| Online form barcode | Free to generate | All on-arrival applicants | Expires if you wait too long — VERIFY window | Re-fill if barcode ages out |
| Mission visa instead | Consular fee — VERIFY | Nationalities barred from VOA | Airport refusal risk if ignored | Finish before departure |
What is the Kathmandu visa-on-arrival flow?
Pre-fill the online tourist visa form for a barcode receipt, complete an arrival card, pay the fee at the bank counter in accepted currency, then proceed to immigration for the sticker. Queues grow when several wide-body flights land together.
Immigration pages encourage filling the form on the Department website before travel so you bring a printed barcode. Kiosk machines exist as backup but add time when they are busy or offline. The submission receipt is time-limited — the current validity window (commonly described around fifteen days) and re-file if needed.
Payment culture still favours clean US dollar notes for many travellers, even when cards appear. Bring exact or near-exact amounts in good-condition bills; damaged notes are a known friction point. Keep small bills for the tourist-bus ATM tax afterwards.
Photos: carry spare passport photos even if the machine captures an image — trekking permits later will want them anyway. Keep the payment receipt until the sticker is in the passport and photographed.
Land arrivals from India at designated posts can work for eligible nationalities, but opening hours, power cuts and different staffing patterns mean the airport choreography is not a perfect template. whether your chosen crossing offers on-arrival services the day you travel.
- Print barcode + bring digital backup
- Fill arrival card on the plane
- Use crisp USD for the fee band you chose
- Photograph the finished visa page in good light
- Do not hand your only cash copy to a helpful stranger in the queue
How should visa length interact with trek permits?
Buy a visa long enough for acclimatisation days, weather holds and the Kathmandu buffer at both ends. TIMS and park permits are separate fees and do not extend your immigration stay. Align visa end dates with your international flight, not the map’s optimistic walking hours.
Everest Base Camp itineraries that look like ‘12 trekking days’ become 18–20 calendar days once you add travel to Lukla, rest days and a safety margin. Read Everest Base Camp trek guide before choosing the US$30 band to ‘save twenty dollars’.
Annapurna circuits and side trips to Mustang or other restricted areas add permit layers and sometimes transport delays. Annapurna Circuit guide helps you pressure-test whether 30 days is honest. restricted-area permit rules with a licensed agency — they are not the same as the airport visa.
If you exit to India or Tibet and re-enter, confirm whether your multiple-entry tourist visa still has days left and whether the land border you chose offers on-arrival services for your nationality. Not every crossing mirrors the Kathmandu airport desk.
Lukla weather cancellations are famous for a reason. A visa that ends the morning after your only scheduled international departure is how people buy emergency extensions under altitude headache. Leave several legal days after the trek’s latest plausible return to Kathmandu.
What insurance belongs next to a Nepal arrival visa?
Trekking without evacuation cover is the expensive kind of minimalism. Buy medical insurance that explicitly contemplates helicopter evacuation and altitude, and tell your insurer the maximum elevation you expect to sleep at.
Compare policies through Ekta, Insubuy or VisitorsCoverage, then read the altitude clause twice. Some cheap policies stop covering you above a threshold that sits below common Everest-region lodges.
Share policy numbers with your guide company before you leave Kathmandu. When phone signal thins, your paper summary is the asset. Keep it with the visa photo.
Trip-cancellation cover is optional; evacuation cover is the line item that matches Nepal’s geography. A policy that only reimburses clinic visits in Thamel will not feel generous at 4,800 metres when a helicopter decision is on the table.
Which Nepal visa mistakes strand trekkers?
Choosing 15 days for a 20-day trek, arriving with excluded nationality assumptions, paying a tout to ‘skip the line’, or letting the online barcode expire before landing are classic failures. So is forgetting that permits ≠ visa days.
Overstaying to finish a summit push creates fines and stress at exit. Build legal days first; chase viewpoints second. late-fine maths on immigration.gov.np if you are already close to the edge.
Another avoidable error: entering on tourism and then informally ‘helping’ a school or clinic without switching status when the rules require it. Good intentions do not replace the correct visa category. If your trip is truly voluntourism-heavy, research status change steps before you promise a start date.
- Do not rely on blurry photocopies of USD
- Do not assume VOA at every land border
- Do not start a restricted-area trek on a lapsed visa
- Do not outsource your passport to an unknown airport helper
Nepal visa on arrival — common questions
Eligible tourists pay published USD fees for 15, 30 or 90-day multiple-entry visas on arrival, ideally with a pre-filled online form. Pick length for trek reality, buy evacuation insurance, and VERIFY eligibility and fees on immigration.gov.np before you fly.
Next steps: run the visa checker, pre-fill the form, and open your trek guide — EBC or Annapurna — with visa end dates written at the top of the packing list.
- How much is the 30-day visa? — Commonly US$50 — VERIFY on the official fee table.
- Is the visa multiple entry? — Tourist visas on arrival are described as multiple re-entry — VERIFY your sticker.
- Should I pre-fill online? — Yes — bring the barcode receipt while it remains valid.
- Can I pay by card? — Sometimes; still carry clean USD — VERIFY accepted tender on arrival day.
- Do trek permits extend my visa? — No — separate systems.
- Can I extend in Kathmandu? — Often yes for minimum blocks with fees — VERIFY.
- Best next step? — Confirm VOA eligibility, pay for enough days, buy evacuation cover.