Nepal, home to the highest peak- Mount Everest, is the most scenic destination and a perfect place for self riding/driving holiday destination. Indians do not require a visa or travel permit to visit Nepal. However, if you are crossing into the border on your own vehicle you have to get a vehicle permit at the border. The process is fairly simple and less time consuming.
The documents required are:
- Original RC.
- Photocopy of RC.
Please note passport size photographs are not required.
Procedure: You need to fill an application form, pay the fee and the permit is done. It took us 15 minutes to finish the process and hit the road. Good news is there are no touts to trouble around. Do have the receipt safe as there are multiple check points that ask for the appropriate documents.
Two-wheelers are charged 200 Nepali Rupees per day. The border offices open at 8 am, it would be a good idea to reach the border early to beat the queue. At Kakarbhitta border, we were issued a permit for a maximum of 7 days. Most of the border posts issue it for a maximum of 7 days and to extend the permit we were asked to head to Kathmandu.
Permit Extension Procedure:
For extension, one has to go to the Cargo Terminal at Kathmandu airport. Help will star coming to you immediately in the form of private agents and it is mandatory to use their services. The fee for agents is 500 Nepali rupee, the agent will take the documents and would enter the information in their database with details such as Engine, chassis and vehicle number using his username and agent ID. This information has to be precise and correct and will later be inspected by the Chief Customs Officer.
After the data entry, your documents will be passed on to another official for signature. Post that you head to the bank within the airport premises to pay the fee for remaining days. For this you will get a receipt and then comes the most tricky and time consuming part. Since the customs department is the one issuing the vehicle permit you have to get hold of the Chief Customs Officer to verify and attest your vehicle chassis and engine number. This could be quite a task as this place is the International Cargo terminal and hence the officer tends to be way too busy.
In our case, this process took over 3 hours. Also, do note that the vehicle permit can be obtained for a maximum of 30 days in a year. The word is if you overstay your vehicle will be impounded and you will have to face legal consequences. Do respect the rules and regulation of the Country. Also note that helmets are mandatory in Nepal.
