Get Onward Ticket
Nepal grants visa-on-arrival in three fixed windows: 15, 30 or 90 days, at Tribhuvan International Airport and a handful of land crossings. What catches travellers out isn't the visa itself, it's the onward ticket the immigration desk can ask for on top of it. A dummy ticket, also called an onward ticket, is a real PNR booked for visa or border-check purposes without paying for the flight, and Nepal's desk officers ask for one more often than most people expect.
Step 1: Confirm your visa-on-arrival window before you pack
Nepal's on-arrival visa comes in three lengths, and which one you request shapes what "onward" needs to prove. A 15-day tourist visa reads as a short, defined trip; a 90-day one invites more questions about how you plan to leave. Decide your window first, then build your paperwork around it, not the other way round.
Step 2: Book a dummy ticket or onward ticket that matches your visa length
Once you know your window, get a real, verifiable PNR for a flight out of Nepal (or onward to a third country) dated inside it. It doesn't need to be paid in full. It needs to exist in the airline's system under your name. Saw a trekker at Tribhuvan get held for twenty minutes because his "proof" was a screenshot of a fare search, not a booking. That's not proof of anything.
An onward ticket to India, Thailand or the UAE works just as well as one back to your home country. Officers care that you have a documented way out of Nepal within your visa window, not that the route home is direct. That flexibility is useful if you're mid-trip through South Asia and Nepal is one stop among several.
Step 3: Expect the first check at your departure gate, not in Kathmandu
Under IATA's carrier-liability rules, an airline that boards a passenger who then gets refused entry can be on the hook for flying them home again. That means gate staff in Doha, Istanbul or Abu Dhabi will often ask for your onward ticket before Nepali immigration ever sees your passport. Treat the gate agent as the first checkpoint, not an afterthought.
Step 4: Have your onward proof ready at the Tribhuvan immigration desk
At Tribhuvan International Airport, the on-arrival visa counter can ask for proof of an onward or return journey alongside your passport photo and visa fee. It's inconsistent. Some queues never ask. Others ask every time. Have it printed or easily pulled up on your phone so you're not fumbling for wifi at the counter.
The same desk checks passport validity in the same breath, and a passport with only a few months left can complicate an otherwise clean application even when your onward ticket is in order. Sort both before you fly, not one after the other.
Step 5: Handle land borders on their own terms
Entering overland from India at crossings like Kakarbhitta in the east or Belahiya near Sunauli in the west works differently to the airport. Land border immigration posts issue the same visa categories but staffing and scrutiny vary by post and by season. Don't assume a land crossing is an easier ride than flying in. Sometimes it's the opposite.
Nepalgunj and Dhangadhi further west see fewer tourists and, in my experience, more curiosity from the duty officer simply because a foreign passport is less routine there. Carry printed copies of everything. Phone battery dying at a land post with patchy signal is a bad moment to discover your onward proof only exists as an email attachment.
Step 6: Plan around an open-ended trek without inviting extra scrutiny
If you're heading into the Annapurna or Everest region without a fixed exit date, that's normal, but it reads as a flag to an officer trained to ask "and how do you leave the country?" A dummy ticket dated near the end of your longest possible visa tier, with a plan to extend or rebook later, answers the question before it's asked. You can always change the flight after you land, an onward ticket's PNR usually stays bookable and cancellable for weeks, so there's no need to lock in real travel plans before you've even started the trek.
| Entry point | Visa tiers offered | Onward ticket asked | Typical friction point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tribhuvan International Airport (Kathmandu) | 15 / 30 / 90 days | Sometimes, inconsistently | Open-ended trekking plans |
| Kakarbhitta (India border, east) | 15 / 30 / 90 days | Less predictable, staff-dependent | Overland travellers with minimal paperwork |
| Belahiya / Sunauli (India border, west) | 15 / 30 / 90 days | Less predictable, staff-dependent | High seasonal traffic, rushed checks |
| Departure gate abroad (Doha, Istanbul, Abu Dhabi) | Not applicable | Frequently, under carrier-liability rules | Boarding denied before you even reach Nepal |
At Get Onward Ticket, we build these bookings around your actual visa tier so the dates match what you told the consulate or the arrival desk, rather than a generic 14-day placeholder that doesn't line up with anything. For the wider pattern behind why officers ask at all, our breakdown of how border officers verify an onward ticket covers the reasoning consistently across regions, not just Nepal.
For official entry requirements, check the US State Department's Nepal country page and IATA's travel document check programme for how airlines apply carrier-liability rules at check-in.
If you'd rather skip building the PNR yourself, book a real onward ticket in two minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Does Nepal actually check for an onward ticket at the airport?
Sometimes. It's not applied at every counter on every shift, but officers are authorised to ask, and travellers on longer visa tiers get asked more often than those on a 15-day visa.
Can I use a bus ticket to the Indian border as my onward proof?
A confirmed bus or train booking can work for a land departure, but a flight PNR is generally treated as stronger, verifiable proof since it exists in a global reservation system an officer can check.
What if I don't know my exact trekking exit date?
Book onward travel dated near the end of your visa window. You can change or cancel most bookings later once your plans firm up.
Is a dummy ticket legal to use for Nepal's visa on arrival?
Yes. A dummy ticket is a genuine airline reservation, not a forged document. The distinction that matters to immigration is whether the PNR is real and verifiable, not whether you've paid for the flight in full.
Do land borders like Kodari into Tibet have the same rule?
Land crossings toward Tibet operate under separate, often-changing bilateral arrangements rather than the standard tourist visa-on-arrival process, so treat that route as a special case and confirm current status before relying on it.