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VisaNepal does not issue a definitive electronic visa from abroad: your physical visa will always be stamped in your passport upon arrival on Nepali soil. What you can obtain in advance, through the Honorary Consulate General of Nepal, is an electronic travel authorisation (eTA) that secures your entry, reassures airlines at check-in and allows you to avoid queues of more than two hours that are common at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Plan ahead: the consular processing time is a maximum of 21 days and no express procedure exists.
01 · The essentials
Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months after your planned return date — a rule strictly enforced by the Nepali authorities, with no exceptions possible.
Nepal offers three lengths of stay (up to 15, 30 or 90 days); regardless of the option, the physical visa is always stamped in the passport on arrival on Nepali soil.
The Nepal eTA application is classified as difficult: there are many back-and-forth exchanges with the consulate and the required documents must be precise — plan at least 4 weeks before departure.
A widespread misconception circulates on the internet: that Nepal offers a classic "e-Visa", meaning a definitive visa received by e-mail before departure. This is not the case. The Nepali system actually works in two distinct stages:
1. A mandatory online pre-registration on the portal of the Nepali Department of Immigration (nepaliport.immigration.gov.np). This step generates a form with a Submission Number and a barcode valid for 15 days. It is often incorrectly called the "Nepal e-visa", but does not in itself constitute a residence permit.
2. The physical visa (sticker), issued only on Nepali soil by immigration services, at Kathmandu Airport or at authorised land border crossings. This document is the one that legally grants you the right to stay.
The consular procedure through the Honorary Consulate General of Nepal in Rouen adds an intermediate step: it results in the issuance of an electronic travel authorisation (eTA) sent by e-mail, which serves as an official travel pass to clear arrival controls without additional queuing.
Your Nepal visa is always issued in Nepal, in the form of a sticker in your passport. The eTA obtained in advance is an official prior authorisation that secures your entry and eliminates the waiting time at the counter. It is not an electronic visa in the strict sense: the confusion is common and can lead to unpleasant surprises if it is not clarified before departure.
02 · Eligibility
Nepal's entry policy is one of the most open in Asia. The vast majority of international travellers are eligible for the tourist visa: nationals of the European Union, the United Kingdom, North America (United States, Canada), Oceania (Australia, New Zealand), Japan, South Korea and most Latin American countries.
Regarding the procedure through the Honorary Consulate General of Nepal in Rouen, the nationalities currently handled are: France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. If your nationality is not on this list, contact the team to confirm your eligibility before submitting an application.
Nationals of the following countries cannot benefit from the visa on arrival and must obtain a visa from a Nepali embassy before departure: Afghanistan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iraq, Liberia, Nigeria, Palestine, Somalia, Swaziland, Syria and Zimbabwe.
Under the Indo-Nepali bilateral agreements, Indian nationals are exempt from visa requirements to enter and stay in Nepal. This exemption does not apply to other nationalities, even those residing in India.
Persons travelling with a Travel Document — refugee or stateless status — cannot submit an online application. They must contact the Embassy of Nepal in Paris directly (45 bis rue des Acacias, 75017), open Monday to Friday from 10:30 to 13:00.
Children under 10 years old benefit from a waiver of Nepali consular fees. The application must nevertheless be made following the standard procedure: each child must have their own passport and their own individual application.
03 · The procedure
The consular procedure through the Honorary Consulate General of Nepal in Rouen handles all administrative steps: completing the form on the official Nepali portal, document checking, submission to the honorary consul, payment of consular fees and verification of the issued eTA. You will then receive your electronic travel authorisation by e-mail.
Prepare the following elements before starting your application: a clear scan of your passport (biographical pages), a recent digital identity photo meeting the required standards, and the address of your first accommodation in Kathmandu. If you are travelling as a family, each member — including children — must submit their own individual application.
Prepare a clear scan of the biographical page of your passport (valid 6 months after return, at least one blank page), a recent digital identity photo, and the full address of your first accommodation in Kathmandu. Ensure all elements are legible and of good quality.
The official form at nepaliport.immigration.gov.np is completed on your behalf. Every piece of information must be strictly accurate: identity, passport number, dates of stay, purpose of travel. An error can result in a refusal or processing delay.
Your documents are verified to ensure their compliance before submission to the honorary consul. This step eliminates the common causes of refusal (inconsistent information, non-compliant photo, passport with insufficient validity).
The complete file is sent to the Honorary Consulate General of Nepal in Rouen. Consular fees are paid at this stage. The consular processing time is a maximum of 21 days from receipt of the complete file.
Once your file is validated, you will receive your electronic travel authorisation (eTA) by e-mail. Print this document and keep it with your passport: you will need to present it at check-in and at immigration controls on arrival in Nepal.
On arrival, the Nepali immigration officer stamps the visa sticker in your passport upon presentation of your eTA. With the eTA, you bypass the queue at the pre-registration counter and speed up your passage through controls.
04 · Validity & conditions
The eTA is valid within the 6 months following its date of issue: you can therefore plan your trip with full flexibility within this period. Once you have entered Nepali territory, the length of stay is counted in calendar days from the date of entry. Note: an entry at 10 p.m. is counted as a full day — the countdown does not take the time of arrival into account.
The Nepali eTA is valid for a single entry. If you leave the territory — for example for a stay in Tibet or a trip to India — and wish to return to Nepal, a new visa application will be required at the Nepali border. Plan for this constraint in advance if your itinerary includes multiple countries.
Once there, it is possible to extend your stay directly at the immigration offices in Kathmandu or Pokhara, up to a cumulative limit of 150 days per calendar year (1 January to 31 December). The cost of the extension is approximately 3 USD per additional day, with a minimum package of 15 days. Never exceed the expiry date of your visa without having extended it: the daily fines for irregular stay are high and can result in a ban from the territory.
05 · Entry points
The Nepali visa on arrival is available at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, which is the main entry point for international travellers, and at seven authorised land border crossings, mainly on the Indian and Chinese borders. If you are arriving by air from Europe, Kathmandu Airport will almost always be your entry point.
Tribhuvan Airport can be particularly chaotic during the two trekking peak seasons: October-November (autumn, dry season, clear views of the summits) and March-May (spring, rhododendron flowering, ideal temperatures at altitude). Waiting times at the visa counter for travellers without pre-registration range from 30 minutes to over 2 hours. Having an eTA allows you to bypass most of this waiting time.
06 · Before you go
Obtaining the eTA is an essential step, but it does not cover all the preparations for a trip to Nepal. A landlocked country between India and China, with exceptional geography ranging from the Terai plain to summits above 8,000 metres, Nepal requires a few additional practical precautions, especially if you are planning trekking or mountaineering activities. Here are the main points to anticipate before your departure.
Nepal is a destination where the season strongly influences access conditions at altitude. The peak seasons (October-November and March-May) correspond to the busiest periods on the major trekking circuits: Everest Base Camp, Annapurna, Langtang. If you travel off-season, check the weather conditions and availability of accommodation along mountain itineraries.
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