Portugal Will Open a Consulate-General in Kathmandu for Its 56,000-Strong Nepali Community, but Visa Applications Still Go Through New Delhi for Now
A foreign ministry order published on 22 October creates a Portuguese consulate-general covering all of Nepal. It sets no opening date and says nothing about visas, which are still handled by the embassy in New Delhi and VFS.
Portugal is to open a Consulado-Geral (Consulate-General) in Kathmandu, with jurisdiction over the whole of Nepal. The decision was made by Despacho n.º 12883/2026, published in the Diário da República (the official gazette) on Thursday 22 October. It was signed on 30 September by the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, and on 25 September by the Minister of State and Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento.
Nepalis are now one of the largest foreign communities in Portugal. The Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum, AIMA) counted 56,304 Nepali nationals living legally in the country at the end of 2025, the sixth-largest group after Brazil, Angola, India, Ukraine and Cape Verde, according to its Migration and Asylum Report 2025. Portugal has no resident embassy in Nepal: its ambassador in New Delhi covers the country.
What the order says
- A new consulate-general is created in Kathmandu, covering the territory of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.
- Local staff hired for the post will, for now, be paid on the salary table that applies to Portugal's posts in India.
- The reasons given in the preamble are a stronger Portuguese presence in South Asia, closer bilateral ties "in the current context of managing migration flows and their integration in destination communities", and trade and investment.
The order sets no opening date and does not list the services the consulate will offer. In particular, it does not say whether the post will take visa applications. We will report when the Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MNE) announces an opening date.
Where Nepalis apply for a Portuguese visa today
The ministry's visa portal still lists Nepal under the Embassy of Portugal in New Delhi, with applications handled by the external provider VFS. The ministry's diplomatic portal gives the ambassador resident in New Delhi as head of mission for Nepal. The two countries established diplomatic relations on 1 September 1976.
Portugal also has an honorary consulate in Kathmandu, listed on the Portal das Comunidades Portuguesas (Portuguese Communities Portal). An honorary consul is not a career diplomat. Until the new consulate-general opens and the ministry says otherwise, people in Nepal who need a work, study, family reunification or visitor visa for Portugal should follow the instructions on the visa portal for New Delhi.
What it means for Nepalis already in Portugal
Nothing changes yet for residence permits, which are handled inside Portugal by AIMA. The order does not say which services the consulate will provide, so it is too early to say whether family reunification visas, or documents that today go through New Delhi, will move to Kathmandu.
AIMA's latest figures put the total foreign population at 1,585,854 at the end of 2025 (see our report on AIMA's count of foreign residents). The same report notes fast growth in communities from the Indian subcontinent, naming Nepal, Bangladesh and India. In September, the Government also urged Angolans to use the official route to come and work in Portugal.
