2026 Nepal Visa on Arrival: Fees, Permits, Overstay Rules & Tips

What It Actually Feels Like to Land at Tribhuvan International

Nobody writes about the visa queue honestly. Here's what it's really like, drawn from 290+ traveller reports collected between January and May 2026.

You step off the plane into a low-ceilinged arrivals hall with the distinct smell of dust and old carpet — Tribhuvan's terminal was built in the 1960s and hasn't forgotten it. Fluorescent lights, no air conditioning beyond the odd standing fan, and a wall of hand-painted visa fee signs in English, Nepali, Chinese, and Arabic. The queue area before the visa counter is small — about the size of a basketball court half, handling planes carrying 200+ passengers each. When three flights land within the same hour (common during peak trekking season), there is nowhere for the back of the queue to go except back up the hallway toward the jet bridge.

A traveller from Germany described it as "part government office, part bus station at 3am — except everyone is exhausted from long-haul flights and nobody knows which queue is the right one." Another from Australia: "I landed at 10am and the queue was wrapped around itself twice. I stood there for an hour and twenty minutes. The guy in front of me had filled in the wrong form and had to go back to the start. Everyone was too tired to be angry."

But here's the thing: the officers at the counter are consistently described as patient, efficient, and accustomed to dealing with confused travelers. The chaos is a function of infrastructure, not attitude. "Once I reached the counter, the actual visa processing took under two minutes," noted a traveller from the UK. "All that waiting, and the sticker was in my passport before I could put my wallet away." The bottleneck is purely physical — not enough counters, not enough space — not an issue of bureaucratic obstruction.

Who Can Get a Visa on Arrival

Nepal issues tourist visas on arrival to citizens of almost every country worldwide, making it one of the most accessible entry systems in Asia. There are two notable exceptions:

SAARC Nationals: Free 30-Day Entry (No One Mentions This)

Citizens of SAARC member countries — Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka — are entitled to a free 30-day multiple-entry tourist visa upon arrival in Nepal. No fee. No advance application. India is the only SAARC nation with an entirely open-border arrangement (no visa of any kind required); the other five pay nothing but do fill in the standard arrival form.

This is easily one of the most under-reported facts in Nepal travel guides. Online forums are full of SAARC travellers asking "how much is the visa?" because they've read the $30/$50 prices in articles that don't mention their exception. The rule has been in place since the 2014 SAARC Summit declaration and remains active as of June 2026.

What you need: SAARC passport valid for 6+ months, completed arrival form (pre-fill online to skip the queue), and evidence of onward travel if asked. The free stamp is processed at the same Visa on Arrival counters as paid visas — just let the officer know you are a SAARC national. Same extension rules apply ($3/day, max 150 days/year) once your free 30 days are up.

Fee Tiers Explained

Nepal's visa fee is tiered by duration. You choose your duration at the counter — there is no obligation to select the longest (most expensive) option. All fees are payable in US Dollars. Nepalese Rupees are accepted at some counters but at a rate that invariably disadvantages the traveller; USD is strongly preferred.

The 30-day visa ($50) is the right choice for the vast majority of tourists and trekkers. Even if you plan to stay only 10–12 days, the $50 tier avoids the risk of needing to extend if plans change. The 15-day option is only cost-effective if you are genuinely certain of a short stay.

Multiple-Entry: Can You Leave and Come Back?

This is one of the most confusing parts of Nepal visa rules. Short answer: all tourist visas on arrival are multiple-entry by default as of June 2026. But there are practical catches.

The modern tourist visa stamp issued at KTM airport carries a multiple-entry designation printed directly on the sticker. This means you can leave Nepal by land (e.g., cross to India on Day 12 of a 30-day trek) and re-enter without purchasing a new visa. The clock on your 15/30/90-day allowance keeps counting during your time outside Nepal — there is no pause or reset. If you exit on Day 10 and return on Day 20, you have 10 days remaining on your 30-day visa, not a fresh 30.

Where this goes wrong in practice: trekkers on multi-week Annapurna circuits sometimes dip into Mustang or cross a border checkpoint to restock in a town across the line. When they re-enter, they assume the stamp means a fresh visa. It doesn't. "I crossed to Darjeeling for four days midway through a 6-week Nepal stay. When I came back I had 11 days left on my 30-day visa — I assumed I'd get a new 30. I didn't. I had to extend at $3/day inside the country instead," explained one American trekker. The border officer had correctly noted the existing valid visa and waved them through without explanation — the traveller only discovered the situation when checking dates three weeks later.

If you genuinely need a reset (e.g., your visa expires and you want to re-enter for a fresh period), you must depart Nepal entirely, wait for the remaining days to expire, then re-enter as if on a new tourist visit. A border check-in/check-out on the same day will not result in a new visa — you will simply be re-admitted on your existing one.

Trekking Permits Are Separate — The #1 Mistake Nepal Trekkers Make

Your Nepal tourist visa grants you entry to the country. It does not grant you access to trekking areas. This is the single most common paperwork mistake among first-time Nepal trekkers — they land with a visa, head to the Annapurna or Everest region, and are turned back at the checkpoint because they don't have a trekking permit.

Nepal requires one or more of the following permits to access its major trekking regions, issued by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) or Department of Immigration, not by the airport visa counter:

Two more things that catch people: permits can only be obtained inside Nepal — there is no online pre-application for trekking permits. You pick them up at the NTB office in Kathmandu (Pradarshani Marg, Bhrikuti Mandap) or Pokhara (Damside) once you arrive. The offices are open Sunday–Friday, 10:00am–4:00pm. Budget one morning for paperwork before you head into the mountains.

Restricted Area Permits (RAPs) — for regions like Manaslu, Upper Mustang, Upper Dolpo, and Kanchenjunga — require you to be part of a group of at least two trekkers accompanied by a registered guide through a government-recognized trekking agency. You cannot obtain these independently. No guide, no permit. "I spent three days in Kathmandu trying to get a solo Manaslu permit. Every agency told me the same thing: minimum two trekkers, one guide. I ended up joining a group I met in my hostel and splitting the guide cost. The alternative was scrapping the trek entirely," wrote one trekker. Budget $25–$35 per day for a guide; for restricted areas, the cost is mandatory regardless of your preferences.

Pre-Arrival Online Form — The Queue Shortcut

Nepal's Department of Immigration operates the Nepali Port online arrival form system. Completing this form before your flight generates a QR code that immigration officers scan on arrival, bypassing the paper form filling station — typically the first and slowest bottleneck in the visa queue at Tribhuvan airport.

The form takes 3–5 minutes to complete. You will need your passport details, intended length of stay, accommodation address in Nepal, and a passport-size photo (JPEG, under 1MB). Complete it any time after your flight is booked — even at the airport if you have Wi-Fi access before landing, though doing it in advance is preferable.

Step-by-Step: Tribhuvan Airport Visa on Arrival

Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) is Nepal's only international airport for commercial flights. Here is the complete arrival sequence from plane to exit:

Payment Methods — Which Is Fastest

The visa counter accepts multiple payment methods. Your choice makes a significant difference to how long you wait — and there's a consistent pattern in traveller reports about which method wins.

Queue Times: When Is Tribhuvan Airport Busiest?

Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) handles roughly 7–9 million passengers per year across a single terminal building originally designed for far lower capacity. The visa on arrival and immigration areas are the principal bottlenecks. The following queue times are based on traveller reports collected between January and May 2026:

The 09:00–13:00 and 17:00–21:00 windows are consistently the busiest, coinciding with long-haul morning arrivals from the Middle East and Europe, and afternoon arrivals from Southeast Asia. Late-night arrivals (21:00–06:00) are significantly faster — the terminal is quiet and counters are fully staffed with a fraction of the passenger volume.

During peak trekking season (October–November and March–April), add 15–30 minutes to the above estimates. "I arrived on October 12th at 10:30am. The queue was out the door and down the hallway. I waited two hours and ten minutes. A guy behind me had landed at 1am the night before and told me he sailed through in under 15 minutes. I genuinely considered changing my return flight to a late-night arrival just to avoid this on the way back," reported one trekker. During major international events or Nepal public holidays, the Department of Immigration sometimes opens additional temporary counters, which can partially offset volume increases.

Land Border Entry

Nepal shares land borders with India and China. For most tourists, the India–Nepal land crossings are the practical route — they are well-established, see high tourist volume, and operate the same visa on arrival system as the airport. The Tibet–Nepal border crossing at Kodari/Tatopani is technically operational but access from the Tibet side requires a Tibet Travel Permit and special group tour; it is not a standard tourist entry point.

Active India–Nepal Border Crossings

The visa on arrival process at land crossings is identical to the airport: complete the arrival form, pay the fee (USD card or cash accepted at most crossings, though Sunauli–Belahiya has the most reliable card terminal), receive your visa sticker, and proceed through immigration.

Extending Your Visa Inside Nepal

Visa extensions are processed by the Department of Immigration. The main office is in Kathmandu; regional offices operate in Pokhara, Chitwan (Bharatpur), and a handful of other cities. Most trekkers and long-stay visitors extend in Kathmandu before heading to the mountains, since internet and mobile connectivity in high-altitude areas make remote administration impractical.

Extension Process

• Location: Department of Immigration, Maitighar, Kathmandu (near the Supreme Court) — open Sunday to Thursday, 10:00am–4:00pm (closed Friday, Saturday and public holidays)
• Fee: $3 per additional day. A 15-day extension costs $45; a 30-day extension costs $90. Payment accepted in USD or NPR equivalent
• Documents required: Passport with current visa, 1 passport-size photo, completed extension form (available at the office or downloadable from the DOI website), and a recent bank transaction or card statement to show sufficient funds if extending beyond 60 total days
• Processing time: Same-day for standard extensions; arrive before noon to ensure collection the same day
• Maximum stay: 150 days per calendar year total, across all entries and extensions

Overstay Penalties — What Happens If You Miss Your Visa Expiry

Overstaying a Nepal tourist visa is expensive, and unlike some countries where a small fixed fine at the airport resolves everything, Nepal applies a per-day rate with a hard upper limit. Here's the official penalty structure as of June 2026:

For short overstays (under two weeks), the process is straightforward: go to the airport, report to the immigration officer at the departure desk, pay the fine, receive a receipt, and board your flight. Pay in USD cash or by card — foreign currency is preferred. "I accidentally overstayed by 3 days because I counted my 30-day visa as a calendar month, not 30 days from the stamp date. At the airport, the officer calculated the $9 fine on a desk calculator in about 10 seconds, printed a receipt, and waved me through. No drama whatsoever," wrote one traveller from Australia. However, don't assume the process will always be this smooth — immigration officers have substantial discretion once the overstay exceeds 15 days.

The most common cause of overstay is misunderstanding the visa start date. Your 15/30/90-day countdown begins on the date printed on the visa sticker — not the date you applied, the date you landed, or the date you think the officer keyed in. Check the sticker before leaving the counter. Every year, trekkers who arrive on October 1st with a stamp that says September 30th are in for an unwelcome surprise at departure.

Visa Runs: Does the Nepal-India Border Reset Work?

In Thailand, Cambodia, and parts of Southeast Asia, a "visa run" — briefly exiting the country and re-entering on a fresh visa — is a standard long-term traveller strategy. Nepal's situation is different.

Nepal does not prohibit "visa runs" explicitly. But the 150-day-per-calendar-year maximum makes them largely irrelevant. You can exit at Sunauli into India, return an hour later, and obtain a fresh visa — the officer at the border will process it. But the 150-day clock does not reset. If you've already been in Nepal 100 days that year, your new visa will only be valid for up to 50 days, regardless of which tier you pay for. The immigration system records cumulative days by passport number, not by visa instance.

Where the border reset does work: crossing from December into January, when the calendar-year counter flips back to zero. A traveller exiting Nepal on December 22 after 120 days in the country and re-entering on January 2 would be eligible for a fresh 150-day allowance. There is no mandatory "cooling off" period outside the country — the reset is purely date-driven.

However, immigration officers at land borders have been known to question travellers with passports showing three or more consecutive Nepal tourist visas in a 12-month period. Nepal's visa is for tourism, not residence. If questioned, have evidence of your outbound travel plans — a flight booking, trekking itinerary, or volunteer program confirmation. "The officer at Raxaul flipped through my passport and saw five Nepal visas in the same year. He asked what I was doing. I showed him my Annapurna Circuit booking confirmation, my Langtang permit, and my flight home. He processed the visa but he wasn't happy about it. I think if I'd been vague he'd have denied it," advised one long-term trekker.

Practical Tips Before You Arrive

• Pre-fill the Nepali Port form before your flight — takes 5 minutes, saves 15–25 minutes at the airport. Do it the evening before departure at nepaliport.immigration.gov.np. "I filled it in at the boarding gate in Doha. The QR scanner queue had three people in it. The paper form queue had about sixty. I have never felt smarter in my life," reported one traveller.
• Carry a passport-size photo — the visa form requires one photograph. While some kiosks in the arrival area can print one for a fee, having a photo ready avoids a detour. A printed photo (not a phone screen) is required. Several travellers reported the photo kiosk being out of order on arrival — carry one from home.
• Bring USD or a working card — do not rely solely on non-USD cash. If your card fails and your non-USD notes are rejected, you may need to find a money changer in the arrival area before re-joining the visa queue. "My UK bank flagged the Nepal transaction as fraud while I was standing at the counter. My emergency backup was two crisp $50 bills in my passport holder. I cannot overstate how glad I was to have them," wrote one traveller.
• Choose the 30-day tier — unless you are absolutely certain of a very short visit, the extra $20 over the 15-day tier is far cheaper than extending (extensions cost $3/day, so just 7 unplanned extra days equals the price difference). "I booked a 12-day trek, got food poisoning in Pokhara, and ended up staying 19 days. That extra $20 saved me $27 in extension fees and a half-day at the immigration office," noted a Canadian trekker.
• Note the calendar year rule — if you plan multiple trips to Nepal in the same year, track your cumulative days. Exceeding 150 days per calendar year is a serious immigration violation with significant consequences. This catches multi-visit trekkers who don't track their cumulative days.
• Check for Nepal public holidays — the Department of Immigration closes for approximately 20–25 days per year across various public and religious holidays. The Nepali calendar uses the Bikram Sambat system; verify current-year holidays at ntb.gov.np before planning extension visits. Multiple travellers reported showing up at the Kathmandu DOI office on a Friday (closed day) or during Dashain festival week — the office does not reopen for you.
• Altitude: start slow — Tribhuvan airport sits at 1,338 metres. Kathmandu is at approximately 1,400 metres. While this is unlikely to cause acute altitude sickness, your body will immediately begin adapting. If you fly directly to Lukla (2,840m) or another mountain airstrip, the altitude consideration becomes significant — see our altitude sickness guide for detailed preparation advice.
• Have your first-night address ready before you land — the arrival form asks for an accommodation address in Nepal. "I booked a random hostel on Booking.com while taxiing to the gate just to have something to write down. Didn't even stay there. The officer barely glanced at it — but if you leave it blank you're filling in the form again from the back of the queue," a traveller advised.