Studying in Nepal

What a year costs

Tuition. There is no national fee for international students; each university and college sets its own, often with separate rates for SAARC and other countries. Ask for the fee schedule in writing.

Living costs. No official monthly budget for students is published. Kathmandu is the most expensive city; costs are lower in Pokhara, Dharan or Dhulikhel.

The visa is paid monthly. Kathmandu University lists the study visa fee per month: USD 20 for academic study (USD 40 for research, USD 50 non-academic), with lower rates for some neighbours: USD 15 for Bangladesh, USD 10 for Bhutan, USD 25 for the Maldives, and free for Pakistan and Sri Lanka. A re-entry permit costs USD 20 (single) or USD 60 (multiple). A year of academic study visa therefore costs about USD 240.

The visa

As Kathmandu University explains the process:

1. Enter on a tourist visa (USD 25 for 15 days, USD 40 for 30 days, USD 100 for 90 days; SAARC nationals' first 30 days are free). Indian nationals need no visa. 2. Apply for the study visa within 60 days of the tourist visa starting. 3. Get recommendations: your college writes to the university, and the university writes to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, which recommends you to the Department of Immigration. 4. Apply online and submit to the Department of Immigration: the Ministry's recommendation, your original admission receipt, a bank statement from the latest week with sufficient funds (the university's other checklist says at least USD 3,000 for a student), the online form, and copies of your passport and current visa. For renewals, add your progress report.

The study visa is issued for at most one year at a time, matching the recommendation or the length of study, and renewed yearly.

Working while you study

The study visa rules we found grant no right to work. Budget for the whole course without earnings.

After you graduate

We found no post-study work visa. The study visa ends with your course; working needs a separate permit through an employer.

Language

Most degree programmes for international students, including medicine and engineering, are taught in English. Nepali is the language of daily life and of some programmes.

When to apply

Each university sets its own intake dates; for medicine, the national entrance and seat allocation set them. Remember the 60-day limit to switch from a tourist visa to a study visa.

What to watch out for

Count the months. The study visa is charged monthly and must be renewed each year; an overstay is fined.

Medicine. Foreign seats in Nepali medical colleges are limited and regulated; check the official allocation for your year and your home country's recognition of the degree before you pay.

Where these numbers come from

Rules change. Check the official source before you rely on any figure. These figures are as published by Kathmandu University for its students; the Department of Immigration's own fee notice was not available in a form we could verify. No national tuition figure or living-cost budget was published.