Nepal's Department of Immigration is preparing to roll out a 'Passport-Free Travel' system that will allow foreign nationals to move freely across the Himalayan country without carrying their physical passports. The initiative, announced on 18 September 2026, is designed to make the stay of tourists and other foreign visitors in Nepal more convenient and technologically accessible.

How the system works

Under the new arrangement, foreign nationals arriving in Nepal will be required to install the official app of the Department of Immigration — available on both Android and Apple iOS platforms — on their mobile devices. They must then upload a scanned copy of their passport and visa details into the app.

Once registered, travellers will no longer need to produce their physical passports at key checkpoints such as domestic flight boarding, currency exchange counters, hotel check-ins, or while making travel arrangements through trekking agencies.

What officials said

Ram Chandra Tiwari, director general of the department, explained the practical intent behind the initiative. 'For example, they may forget their passport at a hotel while travelling and be unable to produce it when required,' he said. 'By updating their information on the app, they will no longer have to worry about forgetting their passport at a hotel or elsewhere while they are inside Nepal.'

Tiwari also noted that even genuine foreign nationals have occasionally faced difficulties — including arrests — for failing to produce their physical passports on demand. The new system, he said, aims to eliminate such situations. Additionally, foreign nationals will reportedly be able to apply for visa extensions through the same app.

Dual objectives: tourist comfort and state tracking

The department has outlined two core objectives for the initiative: giving tourists greater freedom of movement while experiencing Nepal, and enabling Nepali authorities to better track the whereabouts of foreign nationals in the country.

This comes amid the department's existing rollout of the Foreign Nationals Management Information System (FNMIS) — a nationwide digital database collecting real-time data on foreign nationals from the moment they apply for a visa until they depart. The FNMIS has been operational since 1 January this year and requires hotels, airlines, travel and trekking agencies, money exchange counters, and other service providers to register with the system.

Scale of implementation so far

According to the department, as many as 1,652 service providers — including hotels, airlines, and money exchange counters — have registered with the FNMIS, with more than 1,80,000 foreign nationals tracked through the system to date.

Department spokesperson Tikaram Dhakal underscored the urgency of wider adoption. 'Had all hotels and travel agencies been registered with the system, we could ascertain the whereabouts of foreign nationals who went missing following the 26 August floods,' he said — a pointed reference to the system's potential in disaster and emergency response.

What this means for Nepal's tourism sector

Nepal is a major destination for trekkers and adventure tourists, with the Himalayan region drawing visitors from across the world. A frictionless digital identity system could reduce on-ground paperwork, ease pressure on tourism infrastructure, and make the country a more attractive destination — particularly for independent travellers navigating remote areas where carrying physical documents poses a genuine risk. Observers note, however, that the system's effectiveness will depend on the pace of service-provider registration and the reliability of mobile connectivity in Nepal's mountainous terrain. A formal launch date has not yet been announced.