Nepal Marriage Visa (Non-Tourist 4D)
A monthly-fee visa for foreigners married to Nepali citizens, renewed for as long as the marriage subsists.
The visa is straightforward and cheap. What follows from it is not, because citizenship through marriage in Nepal is gender asymmetric. A foreign woman married to a Nepali man can apply for naturalised citizenship. A foreign man married to a Nepali woman cannot, at any point.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | Foreigners married to a Nepali citizen |
| Route family | Family |
| Validity | Issued in months, typically matching the fee paid, up to one year |
| Stay per entry | Up to 1 year |
| Threshold | USD 15 per month, 2026 |
| Renewal | Repeatable while the marriage subsists, with the Nepali spouse physically present at the counter |
| Settlement | None |
| PR clock | None. Nepal has no permanent residence status |
| Citizenship clock | Available to foreign wives after marriage registration and residence, not to foreign husbands |
| Family | Yes for the couple. Children need their own endorsements |
| Local employment | No. A Marriage Visa does not authorise work |
| Tax headline | Residence follows days present, so a marriage visa holder living here becomes a tax resident |
| Processing | Same day at Kalikasthan if documents are complete |
Application flow
- Register the marriage at the local level and obtain a certificate from the District Administration Office or a court. A religious ceremony certificate is not accepted.
- Attend the Department of Immigration at Kalikasthan with your Nepali spouse. Both parties must appear.
- Bring the marriage certificate, passports, photographs and proof of address.
- Pay USD 15 per month for the period you want covered, up to one year.
- Collect the visa the same day if the file is complete.
- Renew before expiry, again with the Nepali spouse present.
Good fit
A foreign woman married to a Nepali man who intends to stay long term, because this is the one route in Nepal that can end in citizenship. At USD 180 a year it needs no capital, no employer and no business. Couples who want to live in Kathmandu near family use it for years without naturalising.
Poor fit
A foreign man married to a Nepali woman who wants citizenship. The route gives him renewable permission to stay and nothing more, permanently. Also a poor fit for anyone needing to work, and for couples who cannot both attend the counter.
Watchpoints
- Citizenship through marriage is gender asymmetric. Foreign wives of Nepali men can apply for naturalised citizenship. Foreign husbands of Nepali women cannot. This is the single most consequential rule in Nepali immigration law, and no case of an exception being granted is documented.
- Nepal does not permit dual nationality. Naturalisation means renouncing your existing citizenship, which is why many eligible wives never apply.
- The marriage must be registered, not just performed. A certificate from the District Administration Office or a court is required. Temple and church certificates are refused.
- Both spouses must attend in person. This blocks applications from abroad and is the most common reason a file is turned away on the day.
- The visa does not authorise work. Employment needs a separate Working Visa with an employer sponsor and the same labour market test.
- There is no settlement at the end of it. Renewal is indefinite but never accumulates into permanent residence, because no such status exists. Children are not covered automatically and each needs their own endorsement and fee.
Sources
- Department of Immigration, visa fees and documents, checked 2026-10-22
- District Administration Office Lamjung, citizenship by marriage guidance, checked 2026-10-22
- Immigration Rules 2051 (1994) and Foreign Relation Regulation 2032 (1975), checked 2026-10-22