Nepal Tourist Visa Extension: Where to Go and What to Bring

Your flight moved, the trek ran long, or you simply want a few more weeks in the country and your tourist visa is nearly out. Extending it is a straightforward administrative job, but it is not something you finish online in five minutes. The details that matter most, the fee, the form and the exact number of days you will be given, are set by the Department of Immigration and get revised from time to time. So this guide sticks to the parts that do not go stale: where a Nepal tourist visa extension is handled, what to carry, and what to ask at the counter.

For context, tourist visas are issued on arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport and at designated land crossings, and most nationalities can also apply through the department's online portal before flying. Once you are inside the country and the visa is running out, the extension route is a separate, in-person process.

Where the extension is handled

Extensions are processed in person at the Department of Immigration. The main office is in Kathmandu, and the department also lists offices outside the valley. Check which one is authorised to handle extensions before you set off, because not every counter deals with every service.

Two things worth planning around. Go on a working day, and check that it is not a public holiday or a festival closure, since those can quietly eat the days you were counting on. And go early in the morning rather than mid-afternoon. Queues build, and a file that starts at eleven may not clear the same day.

Papers to bring

The standard set people are asked for looks like this:

• your passport, with the current visa and entry stamp in it
• photocopies of the passport bio page and the visa page
• passport-size photographs
• the application form, available at the office or downloadable from the department's site
• the fee, in whatever currency the counter accepts that day
• your address in Nepal and a phone number
• an onward ticket or flight booking, in case it is asked for

Confirm that list against the department's published requirements before you travel to the office. Documents do get added, and a missing photocopy can cost you a second trip across town.

The fee, and why no number appears here

Government rates are revised, and a figure copied from an old blog post is exactly how people turn up short at the counter. Check the Department of Immigration's own website, or phone the office, on the day you plan to go. Treat anything you read elsewhere, including on travel forums, as a rumour until you have seen it on the department's page.

You will probably be approached outside by agents offering to handle the paperwork for you. Some are legitimate offices; others charge a hefty markup for a form you can fill in yourself in ten minutes. Decide before you arrive which of those you want.

How much extra time you get

Extensions are granted in fixed blocks, not bought day by day, and there is a ceiling on how much extra time a tourist can be given within a visa year. Ask at the counter how many days your extension will actually run for before you pay. If you need longer than that allows, raise it with the department while you still have valid permission, not on the last afternoon.

Do not let it lapse

Overstaying is fined per day and it can make later visa applications harder. In practice that means starting the process a few working days before your visa expires, not on the morning it does. If a cancelled flight caused the problem, keep the airline's written confirmation; it will not erase a fine, but it is useful context if you have to explain the delay.

If your plans involve trekking

Visa extension and trekking permits are separate systems. TIMS cards and national park or conservation area permits come from different offices, and restricted-area trekking needs a licensed guide plus its own paperwork. If a permit depends on your visa being valid for a particular window, sort the visa first and the permits after.

If you are actually changing visa type

Staying for work, study or family reasons is not an extension of a tourist visa. Those categories are applied for separately, usually with a local sponsor, and are best started well before your tourist permission runs out. Ask the department what your options are while you still have time to leave and re-enter if that turns out to be the cleaner route.

A short checklist for the morning

Passport in hand, copies made, photos in an envelope, form filled in, fee checked against the official site, and enough slack in your plans to come back the next day if the queue beats you. That is the whole job. The Department of Immigration's own site is the only place worth trusting for the numbers, and a phone call to the office before you travel will save you more time than any guide, including this one.