Indian citizens can live, work, and reside in Nepal without a passport or visa under the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship -- a genuinely distinctive open-border arrangement not shared with most other countries this platform covers. India's Ministry of External Affairs estimates roughly 700,000 Indians in Nepal (2025 data), concentrated mainly in the Terai plains bordering Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
The 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship -- a genuinely unique open border
Under the Treaty of Peace and Friendship signed 31 July 1950 in Kathmandu, Indian and Nepali citizens
may cross the shared border and live, work, and reside in each other's country without a passport or
visa -- a privilege this platform has not found replicated in any other country it currently covers.
Secondary policy-analysis sources describe Article 7 of the Treaty as granting reciprocal privileges
covering residence, property ownership, trade and commerce, and free movement, and Article 6 as
granting national treatment in industrial and economic participation, though this platform was not able
to directly verify the full primary treaty text in this round of research. In practice, Indian citizens
do not need an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card or a Nepal visa to live and work in Nepal the way
they typically would elsewhere -- OCI and standard immigration categories are simply not the relevant
framework for most Indians connected to Nepal.
A community with roots going back to the 1770s -- and a phrase that is now politically contested
The Indian-origin presence in Nepal's Terai plains traces back to 1770s-80s famine-driven migration
from Bihar, and intensified significantly during the Rana dynasty's forest-clearing and agricultural
settlement policies from 1846 to 1950, with documented immigration from at least 21 Indian ethnic groups
between 1933 and 1966. The Madhesi community -- Nepali citizens of Indian cultural background,
concentrated in the Terai and sharing language (Maithili, Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Bajjika), cultural
traditions, and family ties with communities across the border in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West
Bengal -- constituted an estimated 32% of Nepal's population per the 1991 census. Nepal's citizenship
law evolved through a 1952 Act (citizenship after five years' residence or marriage to a Nepali
citizen), a more restrictive 1963 Act, and a 2006 amendment under which roughly 2.3 million people
received citizenship certificates. The long-used phrase “roti-beti ka rishta” (the
bread-and-daughter relationship, referring to shared sustenance and intermarriage) has historically
described India-Nepal ties, but this platform flags that the phrase is now explicitly contested within
Nepali politics -- as of 2023-24, officials in Nepal's ruling party have publicly characterized it as
“old rhetoric,” reflecting rising sensitivity in Nepal about being characterized as
culturally or demographically subordinate to India. Content connected to Nepal should present this with
that nuance rather than as simple, uncomplicated sentiment.
A country in political transition -- check current guidance before travelling
Nepal experienced major political upheaval from September 2025 through early 2026: widespread Gen Z
protests beginning 8-9 September 2025 (triggered by a since-reversed government ban on major social
media platforms and broader anti-corruption anger) led to Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli's resignation,
former Chief Justice Sushila Karki's tenure as Nepal's first female interim Prime Minister, a general
election held 5 March 2026, and Balendra “Balen” Shah's swearing-in as Prime Minister on 27
March 2026. Given this recent volatility, this platform does not reproduce any specific security
advisory here -- readers should check the Embassy of India, Kathmandu's current, live advisory before
travelling or relying on any snapshot of Nepal's political situation.
Common mistakes people connected to Nepal make with immigration questions:
- Assuming an OCI card is relevant to living or working in Nepal -- it generally is not, given the
1950 Treaty's open-border privileges for Indian citizens specifically.
- Treating the Non-Resident Nepali (NRN) category -- for people of Nepali origin living abroad -- as
applicable to Indian citizens in Nepal, when it is a distinct legal category for a different group.
- Relying on outdated advisory information given Nepal's recent political transition, rather than
checking the Embassy of India, Kathmandu's current guidance directly.
