Business visa renewal in Nepal is a two-stage process: secure the recommendation from the Department of Industry (DOI), or the relevant concerned agency, and then apply to the Department of Immigration for the visa extension. This page focuses on that renewal path; for first-time eligibility and the initial route, see our guide to business visa in Nepal.
Quick Answer
| Question | Practical answer |
|---|---|
| Who is the process for? | Eligible foreign investors, authorised representatives and, where applicable, relevant family members. |
| What comes first? | The supporting-agency recommendation, commonly through DOI for the relevant investment or industry file. |
| Who extends the visa? | The Department of Immigration. A DOI recommendation supports the extension; it is not the visa itself. |
| What records matter most? | Passport and latest visa, recommendation, company/industry and investment records, tax clearance, and renewal status reports as applicable. |
| When should I apply? | DOI publishes administrative guidance to submit the visa-extension application 30 days before the current visa expires. |
| Is there a fixed renewal fee or turnaround? | The Department of Immigration’s current Citizen Charter and Visa Information page publish inconsistent online business-visa fee schedules. Confirm the payable amount with Immigration before payment. DOI lists an immediate recommendation standard and Immigration lists Business Visa as same day before 1 PM; these are service standards, not a guarantee of complete renewal. |
Who can renew a business visa in Nepal?
Under the Immigration Rules, a business visa may be available to eligible foreign investors and authorised representatives, with provision for relevant family members. It is issued on the recommendation of the concerned agency and can be issued for up to five years at a time, then extended as needed. “Up to” is not an entitlement to the maximum period: the recommendation and Immigration decision remain case-specific.
This is a renewal and extension guide. It does not replace the initial investment, company-registration or FDI process. Where the file depends on FDI approval, investment evidence or share records, keep those records consistent with the underlying investment position; our overview of foreign direct investment in Nepal covers that separate subject.
How to Renew a Business Visa in Nepal
DOI’s foreign-investment guidance says that a visa-extension application should be submitted to DOI 30 days before the existing visa expires. This is published administrative guidance, not a statutory limitation period stated in this guide. The workflow is straightforward in sequence, but the record review is substantive:
- Check the passport, latest Nepal visa, applicant role, and company or industry details against the DOI file.
- Prepare the recommendation request and supporting status evidence for the DOI pathway.
- Obtain the recommendation from DOI or the relevant concerned agency.
- Submit the online Immigration extension application and its supporting documents.
- Check the issued visa details and keep copies of the filed records.
The DOI’s visa-recommendations service separates its recommendation work from the Immigration extension filing. DOI assesses recommendation requests using factors that include investment level, financial performance, employment generation, income tax paid and investment area. Those are published assessment factors, not a public pass/fail formula.
The DOI Citizen Charter lists the business-visa recommendation service standard as immediate. The Department of Immigration Citizen Charter lists Business Visa as same day before 1 PM. These are administrative service standards, not a promise that the complete renewal will always finish within that time: incomplete documents, a recommendation issue or verification can affect actual completion.
Documents for an operating industry
The DOI Citizen Charter has a separate business-visa recommendation checklist for an operating industry. Its operating-industry list covers the prescribed application, passport and latest-visa copies, current tax-clearance and audit material, the certified share record, physical and financial progress and operating-status material, an industry inspection report, evidence of foreign investment through the banking channel, and representative, dependant or authority documents where applicable.
For the Immigration stage, also provide the online application receipt, DOI recommendation, company registration, PAN/VAT, share certificate, industry registration, passport and recent Nepal visa, investor biodata, and tax clearance for renewal listed in Immigration’s Citizen Charter.
Reconcile names, dates, ownership and industry details across each document before submission.
Documents for a not-yet-operating industry
A not-yet-operating industry follows a different DOI Citizen Charter checklist. It calls for the prescribed application, tax-clearance and audit material, passport and latest-visa copies, an updated certified share record, physical and financial progress material, and evidence of foreign investment brought into Nepal; the checklist also addresses representative, dependant and authority documents where applicable. Where the approved time to bring the industry into operation has passed, include the approved extension of that time.
This is not the operating-industry checklist. Use the status-specific DOI list rather than assuming that an inspection report or operating-status record applies in the same way before operations begin. The Immigration extension documents still apply at the Immigration stage.
Tax clearance, progress reports and industry monitoring
Tax clearance is an explicit renewal document on the current public DOI and Immigration materials. It should match the company or industry records being presented with the renewal file. For background on the document itself, see tax clearance certificate in Nepal.
The renewal record also needs to reflect the industry’s actual status. The DOI Citizen Charter separates the operating-industry inspection and operating-status material from the not-yet-operating checklist. Immigration’s public material also refers to renewal progress and monitoring records. Keep the records internally consistent with the status being presented.
How to file the Immigration extension
Once the recommendation is available, file the extension with the Department of Immigration in the prescribed form. Current service material operationalises this with an online application or receipt, together with the recommendation, passport and latest visa, tax clearance and the applicable company, industry and renewal-status records.
Keep a copy of what was filed. A recommendation is supporting documentation, not evidence that the visa has already been extended. Check the visa actually issued by Immigration before relying on its new validity details.
What to do if the visa is close to expiry
Do not assume that lodging a recommendation or extension request extends the current visa by itself. If expiry is close, address missing records promptly and contact the Department of Immigration or the DOI One Stop Service Center for the appropriate handling of the file.
If the visa has already expired, Schedule 9 of the Immigration Rules provides an additional-charge and regularisation framework for a business visa that was not extended on time. The framework turns on the applicable visa fee and, in relevant cases, renewed recommendation for the same visa. Because current official online business-visa fee schedules conflict, this guide does not calculate a late-renewal amount; confirm the amount and regularisation steps with Immigration for the particular case.
Business visa renewal checklist
Before filing, check that you have:
- confirmed the applicant’s investor, authorised-representative or dependant status;
- checked passport validity and the latest Nepal visa;
- aligned company, industry, PAN or VAT, share and investment records;
- prepared the DOI recommendation request and relevant status-specific documents;
- obtained the DOI or other concerned-agency recommendation;
- prepared the Immigration online application or receipt;
- included the latest tax clearance and the applicable progress, monitoring or inspection evidence; and
- used the DOI checklist that matches the industry’s operating status.
Need a renewal-file review before you submit? Business visa support in Nepal can help you organise the documents and identify gaps for professional follow-up; it cannot guarantee a recommendation or visa outcome.
Official Sources and Further Reading
- Immigration Rules, 2051 (1994), Nepal Law Commission — Rule 9, Rule 27, Rule 29 and Schedule 9.
- Department of Industry: Citizen Charter — status-specific DOI business-visa recommendation checklists and service standard.
- Department of Industry: Visa Recommendations — recommendation role and assessment factors.
- Department of Industry: foreign-investment guidance — DOI’s published 30-day administrative filing guidance.
- Department of Immigration: Citizen Charter — extension documents, service standard and one online fee schedule.
- Department of Immigration: Visa Information — Business Visa information and a conflicting online fee schedule.
- Department of Immigration: Visa fees and documents — current public document guidance.
