Kathmandu, September 18, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Nepal’s Department of Immigration is preparing to introduce a digital “Passport-Free Travel” system that will allow foreign nationals to travel across the country without carrying their physical passports.
The initiative is aimed at making travel and immigration-related services more convenient for foreigners visiting Nepal, according to the department.
Under the proposed system, foreign nationals arriving in Nepal will be required to download the Department of Immigration’s official app and register their details, including a scanned copy of their passport and visa information.
“Then they can freely travel across the country without carrying their physical passports,” Department of Immigration Director General Ram Chandra Tiwari said.
The app is available on both Android and Apple iOS platforms. Once registered, foreigners would not be required to produce their physical passports while boarding domestic flights, exchanging currency, checking into hotels or making arrangements through trekking agencies.
Tiwari said the system would help address situations where foreign nationals forget or misplace their passports during travel. He added that even genuine foreign visitors have occasionally faced difficulties for failing to produce their physical passports and that some foreigners have also been arrested over the issue.
The same app will also allow foreign nationals to apply for visa extensions, according to the department.
The initiative has two stated objectives: allowing tourists to travel more freely and conveniently while enabling Nepali authorities to maintain information on foreign nationals and track their movements when required.
The proposed passport-free arrangement comes after the department launched the Foreign Nationals Management Information System (FNMIS) nationwide on January 1 this year. The digital database is designed to collect real-time information on foreign nationals from the time they apply for a visa until their departure from Nepal.
Hotels, airlines, travel and trekking agencies, money exchange counters and other service providers catering to foreign nationals are required to register with the FNMIS.
The department said 1,652 service providers have so far joined the system, through which information on more than 180,000 foreign nationals has been tracked.
Officials said the system is also intended to improve the safety of foreign visitors and help authorities address potential crimes involving foreign nationals.
Department spokesperson Tikaram Dhakal said comprehensive participation by hotels and travel agencies could also help authorities trace the movements of foreign nationals during emergencies.
“Had all hotels and travel agencies been registered with the system, we could ascertain the whereabouts of foreign nationals who went missing following the Aug. 26 floods,” Dhakal said.
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