Retiring in Nepal: Right of Stay, Tax on Your Pension and Access to Healthcare

France Diplomatie describes a compulsory visa to enter Nepal, obtained at the Nepalese embassy in Paris, at Kathmandu airport or at land border posts. Extension is done on the spot, in one-month periods, against payment, within a limit of 150 days per calendar year; the passport must be valid for six months or more. This framework suits repeated winter stays, but it does not amount to stable residence.

For longer stays, the Department of Immigration (immigration.gov.np) publishes the categories of non-tourist visas. The Department of Industry page on visa recommendations mentions a resident visa reserved for investors, for an investment above USD 100,000 made in one go in convertible currency, granted one year at a time. No official page read details a category dedicated to retirees or the resources required of a pensioner: do not rely on resource conditions circulated by private websites and have the scheme in force confirmed by the Nepalese embassy in Paris and the department before any settling project. The guide to receiving your pension abroad completes this overview.

The list of tax treaties published by the French tax administration does not include Nepal. Domestic law rules therefore apply. According to administrative doctrine, retirement pensions, pensions and life annuities paid by a payer established in France to a person domiciled outside France are subject to withholding tax (article 182 A of the French general tax code), calculated on the net amount after a 10% allowance; the absence of a treaty is precisely the case this doctrine addresses.

• State pensions: the State pensions portal gives an annual scale, revised each year, with three rates (0%, 12% and 20%), applied to the gross amount reduced by the health insurance contribution (COTAM, 3.2%), then by the 10% allowance. Nepal does not appear in the list of countries where withholding does not apply because of a treaty.
• Social contributions: a retiree whose tax residence is outside France is not liable for the CSG and the CRDS (French social levies), but a health insurance contribution is still taken from their French pensions (CLEISS, the French Social Security Centre for European and International Liaison).
• Taxation in Nepal: the Inland Revenue Department publishes the scale for individuals each year. Check with the Nepalese administration whether a foreign pension is taxable for a resident, and keep your supporting documents to claim any tax credit.

To avoid a double burden, report your departure to your pension fund and to the French tax administration, and have your situation validated by a professional who knows both systems: taxation in both countries is not ruled out in the absence of a treaty.

Form S1 is reserved by the CLEISS for retirees of the French scheme who settle in the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland. In Nepal, no social security agreement exists: the retiree arranges their cover alone. The Health Insurance Board funds the premium for elderly people, for annual cover equivalent to 100,000 rupees; this measure targets Nepalese citizens and access for a foreigner is not described. See the glossary entry on form S1 and the guide form S1: how to use it.

• CFE: the offer intended for retirees, with no medical questionnaire, requires a pension from a French basic scheme; it covers only care received abroad. Waiting period: none if you join before departure or within three months of settling; otherwise three months before age 45 and six months beyond.
• International insurance: to be chosen on the ceiling, evacuation, altitude cover, the handling of medical history and chronic care; see CFE or private insurance.

The breakdown by status is on the page on healthcare reimbursement in Nepal, and the local offer on the page on the healthcare system in Nepal.

For a retiree, three health topics weigh more than in other destinations. First, altitude: France Diplomatie discourages high altitude for people with a history of heart, lung, neurological or kidney problems, and recommends specialist advice before any trek at altitude. Next, air pollution: the Kathmandu valley is among the most polluted in the world, with frequent peaks especially in winter, and the elderly are among the most exposed; the French administration advises people at risk to consider postponing their stay during peaks. Finally, distance from specialised care: evacuation to a reference establishment requires payment guaranteed in advance.

Before settling, take stock of your medical history and how it is covered, because a medical questionnaire can lead to exclusions: see the guide to the medical questionnaire and medical history.

Assurance retraite asks every retiree living abroad to prove they are alive once a year, whatever their nationality. The proof-of-life certificate is completed by the local authority of the country of residence or validated through the “Mon certificat de vie” application; it must be returned within two months, failing which payment is suspended until it is received. Also report your address and bank details to your fund. The guide to quarters worked abroad and the page on retirement insurance abroad help you prepare the settlement of your rights.

Nepal applies exchange controls: any cash sum above the equivalent of USD 2,000 must be declared to customs on entry, on pain of fines and prison sentences. France Diplomatie recommends caution for card payments outside the large hotels and agencies, because of fraud risks, and specifies that cryptocurrencies are not recognised and that their use is strictly prohibited. To receive a pension into a French account, no particular step is described by the official sources read: tell your fund your address and keep an account in France.

Temporary stays in France are prepared in the same way as the departure: the CFE offer for retirees covers only care received abroad, whereas the main and youth offers also cover stays of less than three months in France. A retiree who returns permanently falls under French social security: universal health protection is examined on a residence criterion, with in principle a three-month waiting period, which the local health insurance office (caisse primaire d’assurance maladie) assesses according to the situation. The guide to reducing the waiting period details the situations that entitle you to a waiver of the waiting period.

No official source read sets a standard budget for a foreign retiree in Nepal; inflation and the exchange rate appear in the economic benchmarks block of this page. The budget depends mainly on housing, the city and the level of health cover chosen.

Kathmandu, where the French embassy, the French school and the reference healthcare establishments are located, remains the most practical base for formalities; its winter pollution calls for choosing your housing with care. Pokhara and the towns of the Terai are cited by France Diplomatie among the country’s main cities: the Terai concentrates the risks of malaria and Japanese encephalitis, and the monsoon from June to October exposes you to landslides and cut roads. See the page on living in Nepal. For a retirement project, Expavy helps you compare expat health insurance contracts suited to your age and medical history.