Getting a SIM card on arrival in Nepal

Yes — Nepal is a straightforward market for physical tourist SIMs, and Ncell in particular sells a dedicated Tourist SIM product to non-Nepalese visitors. Ncell's tourist plans run 7, 14 or 28 days, are explicitly restricted to non-Nepalese citizens, and are sold at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu, at Ncell Centres in major cities, and through authorised retailers nationwide — both a physical tourist SIM and a tourist eSIM are offered. Nepal Telecom (NTC, branded Namaste) also sells physical prepaid SIMs to tourists, with its own counter at TIA; recent traveller reports describe Ncell and Nepal Telecom counters side by side in the arrivals area. This makes Nepal notably more tourist-friendly on the physical-SIM side than India, since Ncell has built a dedicated tourist product distributed through both the airport and the normal retail network, rather than a generic multi-operator counter with no purpose-built tourist plan.

Yes. Nepal requires identity registration for any physical SIM, including tourist SIMs. Nepal's telecom regulator requires the subscriber to be physically present with an original ID checked against a copy, and a passport is explicitly accepted for foreign visitors. Ncell's Tourist SIM specifically requires the original passport for registration and activation, and its general new-SIM process also asks for a passport photocopy and a recent passport-size photo. Nepal Telecom's subscriber terms similarly require a copy of the passport/ID and a photograph. There's no Aadhaar-style national-ID requirement for foreigners — the passport alone satisfies the telecom KYC process. Separately, Nepal also runs an MDMS handset-registration system for imported devices, which registers the phone itself rather than the SIM subscriber and is a distinct process from SIM registration.

Yes. Ncell's official Tourist SIM page confirms sales at TIA, and its store locator specifically lists an Ncell Centre inside the airport's arrival terminal offering new-SIM service. Tribhuvan International Airport's own floor-information page separately lists a Nepal Telecommunication Corporation (Nepal Telecom / NTC) counter on the ground floor, and recent traveller reports describe the Ncell and Nepal Telecom counters as side by side in the arrivals area. For a foreign tourist specifically, Ncell is the cleaner confirmed option since it has a purpose-built Tourist SIM product explicitly sold at TIA, rather than a generic prepaid line. Neither airport source publishes reliable official opening hours for either counter, so don't assume 24/7 coverage from the counters' existence alone (see airport_sim_hours).

Neither Ncell nor Nepal Telecom publishes fixed opening hours for their Tribhuvan International Airport counters, so this isn't confirmed as 24/7 the way Delhi's Airtel counter is. Recent traveller information suggests the counters are generally staffed around international arrivals, including some late-night flights — one traveller asking about a 10 PM arrival was told the counters would be open, though another response clarified they aren't 24/7 and generally stay open only until the last scheduled flight of the day arrives. Adding to the uncertainty, a firsthand report describes the Ncell counter being closed before 4 PM on at least one occasion, showing staffing can vary. The safer statement for a 1–3 AM arrival: don't rely on the physical SIM counter with the same confidence you'd have at Delhi's 24/7 Airtel operation — keep a backup data plan (an eSIM bought in advance) for that scenario.