Process of Obtaining a Work Permit in Nepal

The principal law governing work permits in Nepal are as mentioned:

a. Labor Act, 2017 (2074) (the “Labor Act”)

b. Labor Rules, 2018 (2075) (the “Labor Rules”)

c. Foreign Citizen Labor Permission Directive, 2019 (2075).

Following are the governing authorities responsible for the work permit in Nepal:

Governing authority provides the work permit on the following conditions:
a) Unavailability of Skill Manpower
b) Obtaining Work Permit by Direct Recording

Any of the following foreign nationals are exempted from the work permit:

a. who are entitled to diplomatic immunity; or

​​​​​​b. who are exempted from needing a work permit according to any treaty or agreement concluded with the Government of Nepal.

Following steps are required to be followed to obtain work permit:

The following are the documents required to obtain a work permit from the DOL through the general procedure:

The timeline for obtaining a work permit in Nepal is usually  takes 30 to 45 days. Sometimes it may require additional days to receive the approval from concerned government authority.

The prevailing law of Nepal provides facility of providing the work permit based on recoding the foreign employee at Department of Labor on the following conditions:

Pursuant to Rule Number 13 of Labor Rules entities with foreign investment or operated in foreign aid have flexibility in hiring foreign national. They can hire 3 foreign national by directing submitting the application to Department of Labor.

Technician who are hired in Nepal comes for a period of 3 months or less to repair any machinery or to install new technology or to do other similar emergency work can receive the work permit by direct recording. ( Pursuant to Rule Number 24 of the Labor Rules).

Government Fee to obtain work permit in Nepal are as follows:

The maximum numbers of foreign nationals as employees that can be hired by an entity are as follows:

The work permit is granted for the following period of time:

Note: The employer must submit an application before DOL for renewal at least 30 days before the expiry of the validation of the work permit.

If a foreign national is found to be working without obtaining a labor permit or without keeping records, the governing authority shall immediately remove such foreign national from work. Further the governing authority may impose a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand rupees on the basis of the number of such laborers and an additional fine at the rate of five thousand rupees per person per month in case such a person continues to employ such a foreigner in spite of the punishment so imposed.

Date of Publication: 12 September 2023

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