The Short Answer
A Nepali citizen needs a visa to visit the United Kingdom, whatever the purpose or length of the trip. Nepal is on the UK's visa national list in the Immigration Rules, which means entry clearance before travel for any purpose, and no exception in the rules covers ordinary Nepali passports. For tourism, visiting family, business meetings or a short course, the visa is the Standard Visitor visa: £135 (about NPR 27,500 or €157), valid for a stay of up to six months, applied for online and completed at the VFS Global centre in Kathmandu, with a decision usually within three weeks. You can apply at the earliest three months before you travel.
The UK ETA Is Not for Nepali Passports
Most visitors who do not need a visa, including Americans, Europeans and Australians, now need a £20 Electronic Travel Authorisation before flying to the UK. Search results about "UK visa" are full of ETA pages, and GOV.UK warns about websites that imitate government services and charge more. The ETA only exists for nationalities that are exempt from the visa requirement. A Nepali citizen cannot use one in place of a visa, and an airline will not board a Nepali passport holder for the UK on the strength of an ETA. If a website offers you an ETA for a Nepali passport, treat it as an error or a scam.
What the Visitor Visa Costs in 2026
- Standard Visitor visa, up to 6 months: £135 (about NPR 27,500). This was £127 until 8 April 2026, so older guides quote the wrong figure
- 2-year long-term visitor visa: £506 (about NPR 103,200), up to 6 months per visit
- 5-year long-term visitor visa: £903 (about NPR 184,100), up to 6 months per visit
- 10-year long-term visitor visa: £1,128 (about NPR 230,000), up to 6 months per visit
- Priority service, decision usually within 5 working days: £500 extra
- Super priority service, decision usually by the end of the next working day: £1,000 extra
- Rupee figures use Nepal Rastra Bank's selling rate of NPR 203.93 per pound on 24 September 2026. The fee is charged in pounds, so the rupee cost moves with the exchange rate
How the Application Works From Nepal
You fill in the application and pay the fee on GOV.UK, then book a biometrics appointment with VFS Global, the company that runs the UK's visa application centres. The Kathmandu centre is on the 2nd floor of the Rotary Complex Building in Thapathali and is open Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 16:00. It also sells paid Prime Time slots on weekday evenings and on Sunday mornings. There is also a premium application centre at the Hotel Barahi in Pokhara, which runs on a published schedule rather than every day. At the appointment your fingerprints and photograph are taken and your documents are checked, and you get your passport back the same day. If you did not upload your documents yourself, you have to buy VFS's document upload service and bring them with you. Bring the appointment confirmation, your passport and the printed document checklist from your GOV.UK application. GOV.UK says most centres offer free standard appointments within five working days and some charge £76.50. The VFS booking system shows which applies before you confirm. Priority and super priority have to be paid online after you reserve the appointment. They cannot be added at the counter.
Plan Around Dashain and Tihar
The Kathmandu centre closes for the main festival days. In 2026 it is shut on 19, 20 and 21 October for Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and Bijaya Dashami, and on 9, 10 and 11 November for Laxmi Puja, Gobardhan Pooja and Bhai Tika. A trip planned for November or December needs its appointment booked well before the October closures. Three weeks is the standard processing time, not a guarantee, and GOV.UK asks applicants not to book travel until the decision arrives, because the Home Office does not refund flights if the visa is late or refused.
What the Officer Is Deciding
A visitor visa is decided on whether you are a genuine visitor. You have to show that you will leave at the end of the visit, that you can pay for the trip and your return journey (or that someone else is paying and can afford to), and that you are not trying to live in the UK through repeated visits. The online form asks for your home address and how long you have lived there, your annual income, your employer, who is paying for the trip, your travel history for up to ten years, and the name, address and passport number of any family members already in the UK. If you are visiting a son, daughter or other relative who studies or works in Britain, their immigration status, address and a letter explaining who pays for what belong in the application alongside your own bank statements and proof of your job, business or land in Nepal. Any document not in English needs a certified translation. If you want a 2, 5 or 10-year visa, UKVI can issue a shorter one than you asked for and does not refund the difference, so a first application is usually safer as a 6-month visa.
Changing Planes in London Also Needs a Visa
Nepali citizens normally need a Direct Airside Transit visa to change planes in the UK. Even if you never leave the international transfer area at Heathrow, you need a transit visa (£41.50) unless you hold one of the documents that exempt you. The main ones are a valid visa for the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, a US green card, a Canadian permanent resident card, an EEA or Swiss residence permit, or an Irish biometric visa. If the connection means passing through UK border control, for example to collect bags, change airports or stay overnight outside the airport, you need a Visitor in Transit visa (£74.50) or a Standard Visitor visa. There is one exception: travellers flying to or from the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand with a valid visa for that country, whose onward flight leaves before midnight the next day. GOV.UK notes that electronic visas and e-residence permits from those countries may not be accepted for transit, and that Border Force makes the final call. If your only document is an e-visa, check with the airline before you book the connection.
After the Decision
If the visa is granted, you get an eVisa. This is a digital record of your permission, linked to your passport through a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) online account, and it replaces the sticker older visas carried. Create the account as soon as the grant email arrives and check that the passport number shown is the one you will travel on. If you renew your passport before the trip, update the account, or the airline may not be able to confirm your permission at check-in. If the visa is refused, the letter gives the reasons. Visitor visas are not among the routes that can go to administrative review under the Immigration Rules, so the usual remedy is a new application, with a new fee, that answers each reason in the letter. Once you are in the UK you cannot work, even unpaid, apart from a small list of permitted paid engagements. You cannot claim benefits or marry on this visa. You can stay up to six months, and extending beyond that is only possible for patients receiving medical treatment, some academics, and medical graduates retaking the PLAB test or doing a clinical attachment.
If You Meant Something Else
Studying for more than six months, working, or joining a partner in the UK are separate visas with their own rules. If you are coming for six months or more and have been living in Nepal, you also need a tuberculosis test certificate from a clinic approved by the Home Office. A visit of less than six months does not need one. And if you are a British citizen asking about a visa for Nepal, that is the reverse trip, covered on the United Kingdom to Nepal page.
Key Takeaway
Every Nepali passport holder needs a UK visa, and the ETA does not replace it. For visits it is the £135 Standard Visitor visa (about NPR 27,500), valid for up to six months per stay, applied for on GOV.UK and completed at VFS in Thapathali, with a decision usually within three weeks. Changing planes at Heathrow also needs a £41.50 transit visa unless you hold a US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand visa. Book around the Dashain and Tihar closures, and do not buy flights before the visa is granted.
