How to Renew a Nepali Passport Abroad in 2026: Complete Step-by-Step Guide

How Do You Renew a Nepali Passport Abroad?

What Kind of Passport Application Do You Actually Need?

"Renewal" is not a single category. The Department of Passports and its missions abroad treat a routine renewal, a lost passport, a damaged passport and a first passport as different application types with different fees and different documents, and choosing the wrong one on the online form is one of the most common reasons applications get delayed or rejected. Work out which row below matches your situation before you start the form.

Documents You'll Likely Need Before You Start

Exact requirements vary by country and by application type, and the country sections below list them precisely. Across every mission, though, applicants are consistently asked to have the following ready before starting the online form, since most missions require the online application to be completed and printed before an appointment can be booked or attended.

How to Fill the Nepali e-Passport Online Application from Abroad

Nepal's online pre-enrollment system is used by every mission in this guide, and the flow is close to identical whether you are applying from Washington, London, Canberra or Abu Dhabi. A quick note on the screenshots you might expect here: rather than publish real screenshots of the live government portal, which would require entering a real applicant's citizenship number, passport data and photo to demonstrate, Merokalam has built an original step diagram below instead. It matches the actual field order and screen sequence reported consistently across all four missions' own instructions, without displaying anyone's personal data.

Working through the sequence in more detail:

1. On the application portal, choose your application type. Renewal, Replacement (Lost/Stolen), Replacement (Damaged) and First Issuance are separate options, and picking the wrong one is one of the most common avoidable mistakes.
2. Choose 34-page (ordinary) or 66-page (jumbo) passport. The 66-page option costs more everywhere it is offered, and not every mission's document page explicitly restates both, so if you specifically want 66 pages, confirm your mission actually issues it before you pay.
3. Accept the terms and proceed to the appointment section.
4. For appointment country, select "Other" rather than Nepal, then choose your specific mission by name from the list, for example the Embassy in Washington DC, London, Canberra or Abu Dhabi.
5. Pick an available date and time. Demand for slots varies sharply by mission and season; Canberra's appointment page specifically notes that new slots can fill within two to three hours of release.
6. Fill in your demographic information, citizenship details, current contact address abroad and an emergency contact. A national identity number (NIN) is commonly optional if you do not have one.
7. Upload scanned documents. Keep files small and clear; the Washington DC embassy specifically asks for files under roughly 300KB in jpeg or png format, and other missions apply similar practical limits even where not stated as precisely.
8. Review the summary screen carefully against your actual documents, save the application, and note your request or reference number. This number is also what you will later use to track your application.
9. Download and print the completed form. Bring the printed form, your original documents, and your payment method to your appointment.

Fee & Process Comparison Across Countries

What Happens at the Biometric Appointment?

Despite differences in fees and booking systems, the actual appointment looks similar everywhere: staff verify your printed form against your original documents, you pay the fee (by whatever method that mission accepts), and you have your photo and fingerprints captured on-site. Remove glasses, heavy makeup and jewelry before your photo, keep your hair away from your face, and avoid a plain white or very light shirt if the embassy specifies a background requirement. Arrive with time to spare; document verification alone can take longer than the biometric capture itself if anything in your paperwork does not match cleanly.

How to Track Your Nepali Passport After Biometrics

Your application reference or request number, generated when you submitted the online form, is what you use to check status. Canberra's embassy specifically points applicants to the "Nepal ePassport" mobile app, where the barcode number from your form doubles as your tracking reference; other missions primarily notify applicants directly by email once a status changes, rather than offering a public real-time tracker. Merokalam does not operate or have access to any live passport tracking system of its own, so we are not able to check an individual application's status for you; use your mission's official channel or the Nepal ePassport app with your own reference number.

How You Receive the New Passport

Collection methods differ by mission, but fall into a few consistent patterns: pick it up in person with your old passport and payment receipt; authorise someone else to collect it on your behalf, usually in writing beforehand; or receive it by mail if the mission offers that option and you have provided a prepaid, trackable return envelope. The UAE embassy currently only supports in-person collection. Washington DC and Canberra both support authorising another person, provided you notify the embassy in advance and send your old passport with them. Whichever method you use, your old passport is generally required back at the mission as part of collection, so do not plan to use it for travel in the interim.

Troubleshooting: Common Problems and What to Do

• No appointment slots available: slots release on a schedule set by your mission, often on Nepal time. Washington DC specifically advises switching your device's time zone to Kathmandu before trying to book, and Canberra's slots for a new date open daily at 10:00am Canberra time and can fill within two to three hours.
• The online form timed out or expired mid-session: several missions enforce short session limits (around 30 minutes at Washington DC). Prepare and compress your documents before you open the form rather than searching for files mid-application.
• You're not sure which mission covers your area: in the USA specifically, jurisdiction depends on your state; check the current list on the embassy's site rather than assuming the nearest city is correct, since applying at the wrong mission can mean reapplying.
• You lost your application reference or barcode number: check the confirmation email sent when you submitted the form, and contact your mission directly if you cannot locate it.
• Your citizenship certificate is lost or unavailable abroad: a verification or replacement letter from your District Administration Office in Nepal is generally the path forward; contact your mission before your appointment to confirm what they will accept in the meantime.
• Your name doesn't match exactly across documents: carry supporting paperwork (marriage certificate, court order, prior passport) and expect the review to take longer while it is manually checked.
• Your surname changed through marriage or divorce: include a copy of the marriage or divorce certificate with your application; this is standard and expected, not unusual.
• Your passport has already expired: this does not block you from applying for renewal, but it does mean you cannot use it to travel internationally until you have a new passport or an emergency travel document in hand.
• Your passport is lost or stolen: this is a different application category with different fees and documents. See the dedicated section below rather than applying for ordinary renewal.
• You need to travel urgently and cannot wait for normal processing: ask your specific mission whether a one-way emergency travel document is available; this exists at some missions but is not guaranteed everywhere or within a fixed timeframe, so confirm directly rather than assuming.
• You need your old passport back mid-process for another visa application: ask before you apply. Some missions, including London, can issue a letter confirming your passport is with them, but recalling a passport once submitted is not guaranteed everywhere.
• You've moved address since your last passport: update your contact details on the current application; this is normally a routine field, not a blocking issue.

Renewing a Nepali Passport for a Child Born Abroad

A child born outside Nepal generally needs Nepali citizenship registered before a passport can be issued, and the exact document chain (birth certificate attestation, both parents' citizenship and marriage certificates, and the citizenship application itself) is involved enough to deserve its own explanation rather than a short paragraph here. Merokalam's dedicated guide to citizenship and passports for children born abroad walks through that process in full; this article's country sections above cover what changes specifically for the passport application once citizenship is already in place.

Lost or Stolen Nepali Passport Abroad

If your passport is lost or stolen, do not select "Renewal" on the application form. Every mission in this guide treats a lost or stolen passport as a separate replacement category, with a higher fee than ordinary renewal and an additional document: a police report, filed with local authorities where the loss or theft occurred. Washington DC and Canberra both explicitly require a signed statement describing the circumstances of the loss in addition to the report reference number, and the UAE embassy requires an employer's letter as well if the passport went missing while in a company's custody, for instance during a visa-processing handover. Because you will not have your old passport to submit, expect the review to take somewhat longer while your identity and prior passport details are verified independently. If you need to travel before a replacement is ready, ask your mission directly about an emergency travel document rather than assuming standard processing times will apply to your situation.

Can I Renew While My Visa or Residence Permit Is Pending?

In most cases, yes, but the practical complication is usually about your passport's temporary unavailability while it is being renewed, not a rule against renewing itself. In the UK, if you need your current passport for a pending Home Office application, request a letter from the London embassy confirming it is with them for renewal, ideally at the time you submit rather than afterward. In the USA, immigration status categories vary enough that it is worth checking with USCIS or an immigration attorney about whether a limited-validity or temporarily-unavailable passport affects your specific pending application. In Australia, one concrete restriction is published directly by the Canberra embassy: holders of a Protection Visa cannot currently be issued a passport through the standard renewal process, and should contact the embassy directly. No UAE-specific restriction tied to pending visa status was found on the embassy's published pages at the time of writing; if this applies to you, confirm directly with the Abu Dhabi embassy before applying.

Planning the Real Cost of Renewal

The embassy fee is rarely the only cost. Separating official charges from real-world extras makes it easier to budget accurately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official Sources Used

Merokalam is not affiliated with the Government of Nepal, the Department of Passports, or any Nepali embassy or consulate. This guide is independent, informational content; always confirm current fees and requirements on the official pages linked above before applying or paying.

Renewing a passport from abroad takes longer than doing it in Nepal, mostly because of appointment availability and the extra step of getting a passport physically shipped back to your embassy. The process itself, though, follows the same shape everywhere: confirm the right application type, gather your documents before you start the form, attend your biometric appointment, and track your application until it is ready to collect.

If you are renewing a passport for yourself while still in Nepal, or comparing what changes when you are not abroad, Merokalam's companion guide to Nepal passport renewal covers the domestic process, documents and fees.