Permit Application in Nepal

Thanks to Nepal’s great versatility in terms of geography and culture, the Himalayan country has evolved to become one of Asia’s hottest destination for filming. The high affordability means hundreds of filmmakers flock into the country every year to shoot a portion or the entire length of their film in Nepal. The Nepal Government’s proactive approach to promoting tourism in the country has made it very easy to acquire filming permits. However, just acquiring a permit and wishing to film in Nepal is not enough. Since a lot of film footages are shot in sites of attraction and reflect the Nepalese lifestyle, the Nepal Government keeps a watchful eye.

How Film Crew Nepal will come into play?

First of all, all foreign filmmakers have to hire a local and licensed coordinator. The coordinator will then represent the filmmaker for acquiring any necessary permit. They will also be responsible for representing the film company in any circumstance arising both during and after the end of filming in Nepal. Working with a film production company representing a coordinator is necessary. For both parties’ advantage, an agreement letter must be signed on mutual understanding.

FCN will play the part of your coordinator and manage the tedious and time-consuming paperwork for you. We will not just help you with obtaining your film permits, but also give you advice on customs clearance and tax payment.

Based on the nature of the film, you will require different types of filming permits. In addition to that, different filming locations demand different types of permits.

Following are the types of film permits necessary for filming in Nepal:

1. Nepal Filming Permit (Mandatory): The Ministry of Information and Communication provides the permit to the local coordinator and foreign film maker for filming in Nepal except for heritage areas and other sensitive areas. This permit is required in order to get the custom clearance done and other necessary documentation for filming. A Liasion officer is provided by the ministry in order to aid the filming in any region of Nepal related to all legal and diplomatic procedures. This provision not only helps to monitor sensitive issues while filming but also to support against any kind of diplomatic barriers while filming in Nepal.
2. Heritage Areas Filming Permit:The Department of Infrastructure provides this permit for filming in any heritage sites in Nepal. Such as, all three Durbar Squares, Pashupatinath Temple, Swyambhunath (Monkey) Temple, etc. This permit issues a limited time permission to film in any heritage sites in the country for foreign filmmakers. 
3. Private Property Filming Permit: Private owners for film locations provides a permit for filming in film locations provided. This is a letter of agreement normally provided by the owner to the film crew for film production. For example, Hotels, Resorts, Villas, etc.
4. Public Area Filming Permit: Some properties own by the government requires additional permitting for filming due to sensitive issues. This permit provides access to some of the public areas for filming, such as streets, town, Highways, etc.
5. National Parks Filming Permit: Nepal has 29 National parks from east to the west. National Parks in Nepal holds some of the rare wildlife which are endangered. Filming in some of the national parks are prohibited while some are easily accessible to the filmmakers. Some of the permits are Sagarmatha National Park Permit, Annapurna Conservation Area Permit, etc.
6. Drone Permit: Drones are prohibited in most of the parts of Nepal. Areal Imaging in heritage areas is not permitted and considered illegal. Although drone permit is issued to filmmakers to film in other locations. Local licensed drone operators are available for foreign filmmakers for hire to avoid all the procedures saving time. Latest update for Drones available have already restricted areas not allowed to film. Drone permit is provided with the National filming permit with the time duration as mentioned in the same.

Check out some of our latest blogs at https://www.filmcrewnepal.com/blog/

Know more about trekking permission in nepal https://www.immigration.gov.np/page/about-trekking-permit