Nepal’s Department of Immigration issues a residential visa to, among others, “Any foreigner intending to spend life in Nepal without carrying on any business”. It sets two money tests, both in US dollars: US$20,000 held and US$20,000 earned each year.
The second number decides it. A lump sum can be arranged once. A certified income of US$20,000 every year cannot, and the non-business route offers no alternative.
This page rests on three pages of the department’s own site, read on 24 September 2026: the visa information page, the citizen charter, and the table of visa fees and documents. Where they disagree, we say so.
Who the residential visa is for
The department lists four groups: people of international reputation, people who can make an outstanding contribution to Nepal’s economic, social or cultural growth, investors, and the non-business applicant this page covers. Investors must “have invested minimum USD 100,000 (or equivalent) in an industrial enterprise in Nepal” and pay different fees.
For the non-business route, the age test sits in the document list. It asks for “Proof of age ≥ 60 or retirement”. Read literally, being retired is an alternative to being 60, so someone who retired earlier may qualify. The pages do not say what proves retirement or set a lower age for that case.
The money test
The visa information page lists these documents for a foreigner who wants to live in Nepal without doing business:
- “Bank statement (USD 20,000)”
- “Regular income certificate ≥ USD 20,000/yr”
- “Character Certificate”
- “No Objection letter from Embassy”
- “Health certificate (TU Teaching Hospital)”
- “Proof of age ≥ 60 or retirement”
- “Passport copy & latest Nepali visa”
- “Expenditure statement USD 20,000 (for renewal)”
The fee table adds that the income certificate must be “(embassy verified)”, so an embassy checks it before Nepal’s department does. The table does not say which embassy. The separate no-objection letter suggests your own.
The pages do not say:
- where the US$20,000 must be held, so no Nepali bank account or fixed deposit is required on paper;
- that the income must be remitted to Nepal, since the document is a certificate of income;
- anything about a larger deposit. A US$50,000 figure you may have read elsewhere appears on none of the three pages.
At renewal the department wants an expenditure statement of US$20,000, which suggests evidence that you spent that much over the year. The pages do not say what it must show, who prepares it or how it is checked. Plan around this line.
Both figures are in US dollars, so a pension paid in pounds, euros or yen is measured through an exchange rate. That problem is set out in how the exchange rate sits inside a retirement visa test.
The fee, and where the department’s pages disagree
The visa information page gives the fee as “New: USD 700/yr” and “Renewal: USD 1,200”. The citizen charter agrees: “USD 700/year. Renewal: USD 1,200.” Neither says whether the renewal figure is per year, though the fee table implies it.
The fee table, on the same site, gives one figure for the whole residential category: “$1,200/year”. It does not split new applications from renewals.
Two of the three pages agree, so budget USD 700 for the first year and USD 1,200 for each renewal, and expect to be told the figure when you apply. A reduced fee of USD 100 exists for long-standing residents, but the visa information page ties it to “Pre-1998” and the citizen charter to “Pre-2001 residents”. If you think it applies to you, ask the department.
How it is processed
Applications go through the department’s online system: “All applications via nepaliport.immigration.gov.np”. A new residential visa takes “Next day (after Home Ministry approval)” and a renewal “Same day (renewal)”.
The bracketed words matter. The department issues the visa quickly once the Home Ministry has approved it, but no page says how long approval takes or on what grounds it can be refused.
The document list asks for your latest Nepali visa, so the process assumes you are already in Nepal on another visa when you apply. Most readers will first enter on a tourist visa, whose fees and extension rules are in our guide to Nepal’s visa on arrival.
Work, health and family
The department is plain about work: “Only foreign nationals holding a Working Visa are allowed to accept employment and work in Nepal.” The residential route is defined by not carrying on business, so it is no way to earn locally.
Health needs a certificate from TU Teaching Hospital, not an insurance policy. No page requires health insurance for this visa, which puts Nepal with the countries in what health cover each retirement visa demands that leave cover to you.
The pages say nothing about a spouse or dependants: whether a partner can be included on one application, needs a separate one, or must meet the income test alone. They also state no re-entry permit for the residential visa, as they do for some other categories. Ask about both before you commit.
How it compares
Nepal’s test is simpler than most in the region and stricter than Cambodia’s, which asks for sufficient funds without naming a figure; see Cambodia’s ER retirement extension. Nepal differs in two ways. The income requirement is annual and is checked again through spending at each renewal, and every new visa waits on a ministry’s approval with no published timetable.