An average of 200,000 Nepalis travel abroad for leisure every year.
According to Department of Immigration data, an average of 1,99,976 Nepalis a year travelled abroad on tourism and pilgrimage trips between 2021 and 2025. Businesspeople say Dashain is the main travel season.
According to the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA), Thailand is the traditional main destination for Nepalis who travel abroad for leisure through Nepali travel agencies.
Recently, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been emerging as another attractive destination. Saying that Thailand’s visa process has exposed Nepali travellers and businesses to major financial risk, NATTA has warned that it will boycott Thailand tour packages altogether.
According to NATTA, applicants are required to book flights and hotels even though visa approval is not guaranteed. Because bookings are non-refundable if the visa is rejected, hassles in Thailand are growing, and travellers have started turning to the UAE and other destinations.
Nepalis who travel abroad for study, to visit family and relatives, for temporary residence or for permanent settlement are not counted in the “travel segment” data.
The figures also exclude Nepalis going for conferences or seminars, business, medical treatment, government visits and cultural programmes. Those going on United Nations missions, for sporting events, returning to their own country or for other purposes are not counted either. Nor are those travelling for employment in the tourism sector.
According to the department, 233,108 Nepalis went abroad for tourism and pilgrimage in 2025 alone. Outbound movement of Nepalis has been rising steadily in recent years.
Over the past five years, a total of 7,126,459 Nepalis have gone abroad for various purposes. Of these, 52 percent went for foreign employment.
“This data shows that the economy’s structural dependence is on foreign employment,” the department says.
After employment, tourism is the most common purpose for going abroad, accounting for an average of 14 percent.
Nepalis going abroad for tourism, 2021-2025
- 2021: 110,521
- 2022: 177,304
- 2023: 204,517
- 2024: 274,428
- 2025: 233,108
- Total: 998,878
Meanwhile, 5.25 percent of Nepalis go abroad for temporary residence and 4.20 percent for permanent settlement. According to the department’s analysis, 60 percent of Nepalis who leave each year are going in search of economic opportunity and for migration purposes.
Those going abroad to study make up 6.9 percent. The trend shows the number leaving for education rose from 26,000 in 2021 to 133,000 in 2025, an increase of 400 percent.
The department’s analysis says this trend shows that Nepalis’ purpose for going abroad is shifting from short-term employment toward education and then long-term settlement.
Non-tourism travel abroad by Nepalis
According to the department, an average of 7,43,682 Nepalis a year went abroad for foreign employment between 2021 and 2025. In 2025 alone, the figure was 866,310.
An average of 97,956 go abroad to study each year; in 2025 the figure was 133,870. An average of 116,378 go as family members or relatives. About 130,000 Nepalis went abroad for this purpose.
An average of 74,881 go abroad each year for temporary residence; the 2025 figure was 97,939. An average of 59,864 go for permanent settlement; the 2025 figure was 64,760.
An average of 32,850 Nepalis go for “other” purposes. In 2025, 49,386 Nepalis went abroad for these purposes.
Each year, 19,949 Nepalis go abroad as dependants, 17,597 for conferences, seminars and training, and an average of 14,860 for business.
The department also reports 15,811 going for medical treatment, 11,254 on government visits, 8,686 for employment not requiring permission, and 2,959 for cultural programmes.
According to the department, an average of 6,104 Nepalis go on United Nations missions, 2,440 for sporting events and 43 as returnees to their own country.
Nepalis going abroad in last five years
- 2021: 626,481
- 2022: 1,397,250
- 2023: 1,572,400
- 2024: 1,685,492
- 2025: 1,700,969
Countries Nepalis travelled to most
According to the department’s latest data, the UAE is the biggest draw for Nepalis. It received the most Nepalis, on average, of any country over the past five years, counting those who went for employment.
An average of 271,893 Nepalis go to the UAE every year. Qatar is second, with an average of 168,489 a year. Saudi Arabia is third, with 144,367 Nepalis a year. India is fourth, with an average of 113,853 a year.
The annual averages for other countries are: Malaysia 105,836; Australia 82,567; Japan 81,748; United States 60,148; China 51,224; Kuwait 45,747; United Kingdom 45,465; South Korea 28,699; Thailand 26,646; Oman 14,557; and Hong Kong 14,388.
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