Nepal work visa (Working Visa)

A Working Visa is not issued on application alone. First, the Nepali government line agency responsible for your sector, for example the ministry overseeing your employer's project, must recommend you. Second, the Department of Labour issues a work (labour) permit. Third, the Ministry of Home Affairs approves the work agreement. NGOs and INGOs also need their general agreement with the Social Welfare Council. Only then does the Department of Immigration's Non-Tourist Visa section issue the visa.

According to the Department's fee table, the Working Visa costs USD 30 a month for foreigners working directly for a Government of Nepal office or project, USD 50 a month for donor-funded work and USD 75 a month for other organisations. A single re-entry facility adds USD 20 and multiple re-entry adds USD 60. One summary page of the Department lists a flat USD 60 a month, so confirm the amount for your case with the Non-Tourist Visa section.

Journalists use a separate Press Visa, issued for up to four months at a time on the recommendation of the Department of Information and with a Nepal Press Council identity card; the fee table lists USD 15 a month.

Foreigners whose work papers are still being processed may stay in Nepal on a Tourist Visa. When the Working Visa is approved, the visa category changes automatically and the tourist visa is cancelled. Applications for non-tourist visas, conversions and extensions can be started on NepaliPort, but the Department issues and renews them only at its offices, not at the border.

Spouses and children receive visas on the basis of the line ministry's recommendation, which must name the Working Visa holder and the dependants. People staying on a dependant visa are not allowed to work. Renewal requires the tax clearance of the employing organisation and, where the employee pays tax individually, the applicant's own tax clearance.