How to Apply for NOC in Nepal: Online Form, Documents and Fee

What Is NOC in Nepal, and Who Needs It?

NOC means No Objection Certificate: it is the letter from Nepal’s education ministry that you need to study abroad.

The rule is in section 3B of the Scholarship Act, 2021 BS. A Nepali citizen needs the ministry’s approval to go abroad for higher study. The ministry’s FAQ says this applies to any country, and that includes India.

So you need it whether you plan to study in Canada from Nepal, study in Australia, the UK or the USA.

The NOC does two jobs. First, it lets a bank give you foreign money for your study. The ministry’s higher education team works with banks to stop fees going abroad without approval.

Second, you show it when you leave Nepal. Airport immigration in Kathmandu lists it next to your passport and student visa.

The ministry is now called the Ministry of Education and Sports. Many people still call it MoEST, and the portal address still uses that name.

Which Documents Are Required for NOC?

Most students need a citizenship certificate, a transcript, an offer letter and an invoice letter.

The rest depends on your level. This table follows the lists on the official NOC portal. Every level below also needs your citizenship, offer letter and invoice letter.

If you passed your last course in a foreign country, you also add an equivalence letter. Master’s and PhD students add the degree certificate too. The English test result is mainly for New Zealand, or where the list says it applies.

Your offer letter must show the subject, level and length of the course. If you still need papers from your college, our guide on how to get transcripts in Nepal can help.

The form also asks for passport details, so get your Nepal passport for study abroad ready. If one document has many pages, scan them into one PDF. Invoices often show tuition in foreign money, and our CAD to Rs forex converter gives you a rough rupee figure.

Which Courses and Countries Can’t Get an NOC?

The portal says it does not issue NOC for 6 course types, and it lists Taiwan and Mauritius as restricted countries.

The 6 course types are Level 3, Level 4, Certificate III, Certificate IV, top-up degrees and 1-year diplomas. Check this before you pay a deposit. If you are comparing paths after +2, read our guide on diploma vs bachelor’s in Australia.

A 1-year graduate certificate or PG diploma after a bachelor’s has its own document list on the portal. Our page on the post graduate diploma in Canada explains that course type.

A language course alone is not enough, except for Japan. You must apply with an academic course as well.

The ministry also wants you to check your college first. Its notice on institutions lists official checking links for 17 countries, including the CRICOS register for Australia. It also names certain international university lists. Canada is not one of the 17, but our DLI list for Canada shows how to check a college there.

Do Health, Engineering and Pilot Courses Need Extra Approval?

Yes, many of these courses need an extra letter from a Nepal council or commission before you apply.

To study medicine, the ministry’s FAQ says you need an Eligibility Letter from the Medical Education Commission. To get it, you must pass its latest entrance exam.

The portal also lists subjects that need a letter from the same office in Sanothimi, Bhaktapur. These include public health and nursing. A second list shows subjects that do not need one, so read both.

If you hold a PCL in nursing, you also need your Nursing Council license. See our guide to the bachelor of nursing in Canada if that is your plan.

For engineering, the portal asks for a +2 GPA of at least 2.4, with C+ in physics, chemistry and maths. Our NEB GPA calculator helps you check your grade. You can read more in study engineering in Canada. Pilot training needs a letter from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.

How Do You Fill the NOC Online Form?

You register with your phone and email on the NOC portal, fill in your details, upload your documents and submit.

The official user manual gives these steps for NOC online:

1. Open the portal and click Apply NOC.
2. Enter your phone number and email, then enter the OTP from your phone. Click Resend if it doesn’t come within 2 minutes.
3. Set a password, then verify your email with the token sent to you.
4. Fill in your personal details and upload your documents.
5. Add your passport details.
6. Choose the country, level and stream of your last study.
7. Choose the country and college you are going to, then your level, stream and subject.
8. Select Self if you are applying yourself, or Consultancy if one is applying for you.
9. Click Proceed to submit your application.

If your college or subject isn’t in the list, use Request New and type in the details.

Copy your details exactly as they appear on your documents. Your citizenship may show your birth date in BS, so our Nepali date converter helps if you need it in AD. If the form asks for your postal code, use our Nepal postal code finder.

How Much Is the NOC Fee, and How Do You Pay?

The NOC portal’s payment help lists Rs 2,000 per subject, paid with the voucher number the system gives you.

The ministry’s FAQ says you get the message to pay after your application is verified. The portal then shows the amount and your voucher number, so go by that figure if it is different. You can also print the voucher.

The portal’s payment help gives these 3 online ways to pay:

Enter the voucher number with care. The portal warns that the NOC section is not responsible for a wrong voucher number. Keep your receipt until your NOC is ready.

Do You Need to Visit the NOC Office?

You never need to visit to apply, but some students must visit to collect the NOC, and the portal tells you if you are one of them.

The ministry’s notice on NOC service explains this. You can get your NOC without visiting only if your date of birth is verified. That happens when your citizenship and academic details match in the government’s central information system.

If you must visit, the ministry’s FAQ says your message will give a date and time. Take the originals of all your documents. If no date comes, you can download the NOC online.

The same notice warns consultancies not to tell every student to go to the office. So check your own portal message first.

The ministry’s contact page gives its address as Singha Durbar, Kathmandu. The NOC portal’s own page gives the NOC office as Sanothimi, Bhaktapur. Call the NOC section on 01-6635419 or email noc@moest.gov.np to confirm before you travel.

How Can You Download, Print and Check Your NOC?

If you don’t need a visit, you can download and print the approved NOC from your portal account.

Print a few copies, because your bank and airport immigration may both ask for it. To confirm that a letter is on record, use the portal’s Check NOC page.

A NOC is a short letter. A typical one includes:

• A reference number and date, with the subject “No Objection Letter”
• Your name, address and your father’s or mother’s name
• Your subject, level, institution and country
• A line that the letter lets you get foreign currency from any bank, as per the Nepal Rastra Bank circular
• Copies to Nepal Rastra Bank and to any bank giving the foreign currency
• A note that it doesn’t recognise your degree or decide its equivalence

That last point matters when you come home. The NOC does not make your foreign degree equal to a Nepal degree. You can view a sample NOC letter to see the format. Our guide to the degree equivalence process in Nepal covers that later step.

Why Do NOC Applications Get Rejected, and How Do You Fix It?

The rejection message gives the reason, and you fix that exact problem and apply again with the correct details or documents.

The ministry’s FAQ says you make a new application rather than edit the old one. These are the points to check against the official lists:

• Your name and date of birth don’t match across your citizenship and academic records in Nepal.
• Your offer letter doesn’t state the subject, level and duration.
• The invoice letter is missing.
• Your course is one of the 6 types the portal doesn’t issue NOC for.
• A health or other subject needs a pre-approval letter that you didn’t upload.

Changing your college or country: if you have already sent fees to one college, you can still apply for a new NOC. To cancel the old one, you must show a bank statement proving that college refunded your fee. So choose your college with care before you pay. Our guide to Canada student visa refusal helps if a refusal is the reason you need to change.

When Should You Apply for NOC in Your Study Abroad Plan?

Apply as soon as you have your offer letter and invoice letter, and before you need to send money to your college.

The ministry doesn’t publish a fixed processing time, so leave room for a rejection or an office visit. This is the usual order for a student from Nepal:

1. Get your offer letter and invoice letter from the college.
2. Apply for your NOC and pay the fee.
3. Take your NOC to the bank and send your fee. If your family is borrowing, read about the education loan process in Nepal.
4. Apply for your visa. See the Canada student visa requirements or Australia student visa requirements.
5. Carry your NOC, passport and visa to the airport.

Immigration officers may also ask about your course and money when you leave. So keep your study and bank papers with you.

How Can Goreto Help With Your NOC?

You can apply for NOC by yourself, and a Goreto counselor can check your documents and form first if you want help.

The portal has a Self option, so you don’t have to use a consultancy. A second check can still help, because a wrong level or a name mismatch can cost you time.

Goreto counselors can look over your offer letter, invoice letter and transcript, and check that your course is one the portal accepts. On office visits, we go by what your own portal message says.

Our branches are in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Chitwan, Itahari and Pokhara. You can contact Goreto at any of the 5 branches. If you are still comparing advisers, see how to choose the best consultancy for Canada or the best consultancy for Australia.