Working in Nepal as a French National: Visa, Work Permit, Tax and Social Protection

The tourist visa is issued for tourism; France Diplomatie specifies that any breach of visa rules exposes you to legal proceedings and refers, for work permits, to the Nepalese embassy in Paris and the Department of Immigration. The employment of a foreigner falls under a two-step system: the work permit from the Department of Labour and Occupational Safety, then the non-tourist visa from the Department of Immigration. The documents required should be confirmed with these two administrations before filing.

For industrial companies, the Department of Industry describes a non-tourist visa for expatriates, granted one year at a time on the joint recommendation of its service and the Department of Labour, when skilled labour is not available locally; the corresponding work permit can be issued for up to five years, with annual renewal. The documents required include the contract, the company’s activity report, the expatriate’s diplomas, the company registration certificate and a copy of a job advertisement published in a national daily. This administration page may be old: the employer confirms the fees and documents in force before any filing.

The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security publishes decisions on the minimum remuneration provided for by the 2074 (2017) labour law. Its notice concerns the determination of minimum remuneration; as its detailed text is not legible on the page consulted, no amount is reproduced here: the amount in force, basic salary and allowances, can be read on the ministry’s website (moless.gov.np) or from the Department of Labour.

Nepal does not publish a pay scale for expatriates. For a local contract, negotiate the gross salary, the currency of payment, benefits in kind (housing, schooling, health insurance) and who bears the cost of medical evacuation, a sensitive point at altitude as well as outside Kathmandu. The exchange-rate, inflation and unemployment indicators appear in the economic benchmarks block of this page. To compare a local contract with a secondment, see the guide to seconded or expatriate employee.

The Inland Revenue Department publishes each year, after the finance law is passed, the rates applicable to individuals. It puts online the page of rates for individuals, together with the one on withholdings on payments, exemptions and an information booklet on the finance law. The scale, its thresholds and any allowances change from one fiscal year to the next: no rate is therefore reproduced here without reading the official table, which you will find on ird.gov.np.

For a French national, taxation is settled without a treaty: the list of tax treaties published by the French tax administration does not include Nepal. The rules on tax residence are checked in Nepalese law; double-taxation questions are handled under each country’s domestic law. The page on retirement in Nepal draws the consequences for pensions.

The Social Security Fund manages the contributory scheme set up by the 2074 Contribution-Based Social Security Act: the employer and employee contribution rates are set by this law and its regulations, available on ssf.gov.np; they are not reproduced here because the text was not read. In addition, the Health Insurance Board, which runs the national health insurance programme launched in 2072 (2015/16), states that registration is compulsory for employees of the organised sector, with a contribution presented as equal to 1% of income; the State pays the premium for elderly people, for annual cover equivalent to 100,000 rupees.

No social security agreement links France and Nepal: the CLEISS does not list it. An employee sent by their French employer can remain affiliated to the French scheme, under domestic law, for three years renewable once; contributions are paid in France as if the employee worked there, and staying in the scheme does not exempt you from any contributions due in Nepal. Care is reimbursed within the limit of what France reimburses, on paid invoices with form S 3125c. See the page on healthcare reimbursement in Nepal.

The self-employed person who invoices local clients cannot work on the basis of a tourist visa. Investors have a business visa on the recommendation of the Department of Industry (up to five years at a time, depending on the investment) and a resident visa reserved, according to the same page, for investments above USD 100,000 made in one go in convertible currency. The file includes the company registration certificate, proof of the investment and a tax number (PAN).

Remote work for a foreign employer has no digital nomad visa specific to Nepal in the pages consulted; extension of the tourist visa is capped at 150 days per calendar year. A long stay based on this visa is therefore not a settling solution. To compare countries, see the guide to digital nomad visas and the page on digital nomad insurance. Short business stays are made with a visa suited to the purpose of the trip.

As tourism is the first sector highlighted by France Diplomatie, many French people consider a job in accommodation, guiding or trek organisation. Several rules frame these activities. Since 31 March 2023, trekkers must use a licensed guide and obtain a TIMS card through agencies registered with the State, following a directive of 9 March 2023. Since 1 January 2026, tourism businesses (hotels, travel and trek agencies, airlines, guesthouses, exchange bureaus) must register their foreign customers in the foreigner management information system, the details of which are published on the Department of Immigration website.

The mandatory use of a licensed guide regulates the profession, and France Diplomatie recalls that any breach of visa rules exposes you to legal proceedings. For seasonal work, the employer must therefore start the work permit and non-tourist visa procedure before arrival. Mountain safety remains an issue for staff as well as customers: storms at altitude, avalanches, landslides during the monsoon and partial mobile coverage, which sometimes calls for a satellite phone.

France Diplomatie describes an economy dependent on foreign partners and little diversified. Tourism is the first sector cited, with 1.05 million direct jobs; remittances from the more than 1.7 million Nepalese living in the Middle East are an important source of foreign currency. The currency is the Nepalese rupee, and the country applies exchange controls: any cash sum above the equivalent of USD 2,000 must be declared to customs, on pain of fines and prison sentences.

Bank cards should be used with caution outside the large hotels and agencies, and the use of cryptocurrencies is strictly prohibited. For a business-creation project or a local contract, the French embassy in Kathmandu is the first-level contact. Whatever your status, compare expat health insurance contracts with Expavy before signing.