VisaNepal visitors must distinguish arrival applications from mission-issued ETA
Current official guidance explains nationality restrictions, tourist-visa fees, mission procedures and the different deadlines for using permission and extending a stay.
Official source date: 2026-10-29
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Choose the correct process before paying
Nepal offers tourist visas on arrival to eligible travellers and advance applications through its diplomatic missions, but the two procedures should not be confused. Filling an arrival form online is not the same as obtaining a mission-issued Electronic Travel Authorization, or ETA. This current guide reviews the established arrangements and their practical deadlines rather than announcing a new visa category.
The Nepal Tourism Board says foreign tourists other than Indian nationals need a tourist visa. Its guidance excludes certain nationalities and refugee travel-document holders from the normal arrival facility, directing them to a mission before travel. Examples include Nigerian, Ghanaian, Afghan, Syrian and Iraqi nationals. Check the complete current list and the actual travel document, rather than assuming eligibility because a travelling companion can obtain a visa on arrival.
Understand what the arrival submission receipt provides
For British citizen passport holders, the UK government’s Nepal entry page describes completing the online arrival application up to fifteen days before arrival, then using the receipt to collect and pay for the visa at the airport. Airport forms and terminals are also available. An advance form can prepare the transaction, but it does not eliminate the need to complete immigration processing on arrival.
That resource advises carrying cash as a backup even where card payment is available, with US dollars preferred. It also says travellers may need accommodation confirmation for the first night and insurance evidence covering medical costs, repatriation and emergencies. Put those records with the passport and submission receipt, rather than leaving them accessible only through a hotel account or an unreliable internet connection.
Use mission instructions for an advance ETA
The Nepal consulate in Jeddah provides a separate mission procedure: complete the online ETA application, then attend with the confirmation page, original passport and copy. Its published attendance hours are weekdays from 09:30 to noon, with appointment arrangements available through the consulate. The passport must have at least six months’ validity.
The consulate says its ETA is valid for use for up to six months from issue and gives one to two business days as its processing guidance. Those six months are not the permitted length of a tourist stay. It lists multiple-entry options of fifteen, thirty or ninety days from entry, with local fees of SR120, SR200 and SR500 respectively. These are Jeddah submission arrangements; applicants in another country should follow the responsible mission’s own instructions rather than mail documents or payment to the wrong office.
Budget for the stay and identify fee exemptions accurately
The Nepal Tourism Board lists arrival tourist-visa fees of US$30 for fifteen days, US$50 for thirty days and US$125 for ninety days, each with multiple-entry facilities. It identifies free-visa categories including qualifying first visits of up to thirty days in a visa year for SAARC citizens other than Afghanistan, Chinese nationals, and certain children. Indian visa exemption is a different arrangement, not merely a zero-price tourist visa.
The board’s child-fee guidance specifically excludes US citizens from its under-ten free-visa provision. Families should therefore check the child’s nationality as well as age. For an extension, the board gives a minimum fifteen-day charge of US$45 and US$3 for each additional day. Paying for an itinerary longer than the current visa does not itself extend permission.
Resolve extension limits and passport changes before expiry
The UK entry page describes extensions up to a total of 150 days in one year, while Jeddah’s page contains a separate reference to 120 days of extension. These descriptions should not be combined into a promised entitlement. Ask Nepal’s Department of Immigration to confirm the total available for the individual’s entry history and apply before the current permission ends.
The US State Department’s Nepal guidance tells American travellers that visas are issued in fifteen-, thirty- or ninety-day increments and must match the purpose of travel. It also says replacing or renewing a passport at the US embassy requires transferring the Nepali visa through Immigration. Keep the old visa record with the new document and arrange that transfer before departure. The useful deadlines are the arrival-form window, the mission permission’s use-by period and the authorised stay; each controls a different action.
