Nepalese diaspora

Last updated
Overseas Nepalese
Flag of Nepal.svg
Total population
c. 2,637,195 [1]
Regions with significant populations
Flag of Myanmar.svg Burma 1,005,069 [ citation needed ]
Flag of India.svg  India 663,518 (2024) [1]
Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia 502,596 (2024) [1]
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Saudi Arabia 297,561 (2024) [1]
Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar 266,580 (2024) [1]
Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States 264,317 (2024) [1]
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 197,472 (2024) [1]
Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 185,644 (2024) [1]
Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea 73,148 [2]
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 64,000  (2018) [3]
Flag of Portugal (official).svg Portugal 58,086 (2024) [4]
Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 52,621 (2024) [1]
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 29,554 (2024) [1]
Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait 26,292 (2024) [1]
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 26,097 (2024) [1]
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 20,000 [5]
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 20,000 (2023) [6]
Flag of Oman.svg Oman 18,147 (2024) [1]
Flag of Hong Kong.svg Hong Kong 15,950 [7]
Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 10,000 [ citation needed ]
Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark 8,562 (2024) [1]
Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore 7,000 (2019) [8]
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 6,832 (2024) [1]
Flag of Brunei.svg Brunei 6,237 (2024) [1]
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium 5,887 (2024) [1]
Flag of Bahrain.svg Bahrain 2,641 (2024) [1]
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 5,705 (2019) [9]
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 5,000
Flag of France.svg France 5,000 (2019) [8]
Flag of Poland.svg Poland 4,400
Flag of Finland.svg Finland 4,232 (2024) [1]
Flag of Spain.svg Spain 4,301 (2019) [8]
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 3,599 (2019) [8]
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 3,500 [10]
Flag of Libya.svg Libya 3,064
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands 3,000 (2019) [8]
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 2,745 (2000 Philippines census)
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 2,550 (2024) [1]
Flag of Norway.svg Norway 2,483 (2024) [1]
Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden 2,200 (2019) [8]
Flag of Vietnam.svg Vietnam 2,000 [11]
Flag of Romania.svg Romania 1,000 [11]
Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan 1,000 [11]
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 679 (2019) [8]
Flag of Russia.svg Russia 500 (2019) [8]
Languages
Nepali, Maithili, Nepal Bhasa and other Nepalese languages.
Religion
Hinduism  · Buddhism  · Christianity [12]  · Islam..KIRATI
Related ethnic groups
Nepalis (Nepalese), Madheshi (Nepalese)

Overseas Nepalese or Non-Resident Nepalese are either foreigners of Nepalese ancestry or Nepalis (citizens of Nepal) who live outside Nepal.

Contents

Under the Non-Resident Nepali Act of 2007, Non-Resident Nepali (NRN) (Nepali : गैर आवासीय नेपाली, Gair Aawasiya Nepali) means the following:

(a) A person who currently holds citizenship of Nepal, who may or may not have acquired a citizenship of another country or countries, who currently does not reside in Nepal for any reason.

(b) A former Nepali citizen (भूतपूर्व नेपाली नागरिक/"Bhutpurba Nepali Nāgarik") means a person who once held Nepali citizenship (By birth, ancestry blood rights or by other means) and has denounced (legally) his/her Nepali citizenship.

(c) Foreign citizen of Nepali origin (नेपाली मूलको विदेशी नागरिक/"Nepali Mulko Bideshi Nāgarik") means a person who him/herself or whose father, mother, grandfather or grandmother was/were a citizen of Nepal at any time and has subsequently acquired the citizenship of any other foreign country other than a member country of the South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation (SAARC).

(d) Nepali citizen residing abroad (आप्रवासी नेपाली/"Aaprabashi Nepali") means a Nepali citizen who has been residing in any foreign country for at least two years by doing any profession, occupation, business and employment except a Nepali citizen residing in a member country of SAARC or serving in a diplomatic mission or consulate situated in a foreign country under the assignment of the Government of Nepal.

(e) Person of Nepali origin is a person of Nepali origin or ancestry who was or whose ancestors were born in Nepal or other nations with Nepali ancestry but is not a citizen of Nepal and is a citizen of another country. A person of Nepali origin might have been a citizen of Nepal and subsequently taken the citizenship of another country.

The Non-Resident Nepali Association was established by the conference held by 11–14 October 2003 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The seventh NRNA global conference was held on 14–17 October 2017 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The mother tongue languages of Non Resident Nepalis are Nepali, Newari, Tharu, various Kirat languages, Limbu, Gurung, Magar, Maithili and Bhojpuri.

Activities

NRN are opening business opportunities in Nepal by investing in various sectors such as banking, tourism, hotel, hydropower and many more. Non-resident Nepali can acquire Nepali Citizenship as per the Nepal Citizenship (Third Amendment) Regulations 2080. According to the Act, Non-Resident Nepalis can acquire Non-Resident Nepali Citizenship as per Rule 8(a) of the Regulation. [13] NRNs can also obtain ID Card which provides the rights to Free Visa, Investment, Property Purchase, and Repatriation in Nepal. [14]

Notable persons

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "International Migrant Stock". Population Division. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  2. "경기도 과천시 관문로 위치. 전자민원, 준법 운동, 여성포럼, 인권 광장".
  3. "Table 1.3: Overseas-born population in the United Kingdom, excluding some residents in communal establishments, by sex, by country of birth, January 2018 to December 2018". Office for National Statistics. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2020. Figure given is the central estimate. See the source for 95% confidence intervals.
  4. "Relatório Migrações e Asilo 2024" (PDF). aima.gov.pt (in European Portuguese). 16 October 2025. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  5. "Nepali diaspora". Archived from the original on 2010-07-15. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
  6. "International Migrants Day - Nepalese Workers in Croatia". 18 December 2023.
  7. "Thematic Report: Ethnic Minorities" (PDF). Publications and Products of the 2006 Population By-census (xvi). Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong. 2007-12-28. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Migration in Nepal: A Country Profile 2019". 2019-12-18.
  9. "Mapping the Nepalese Diaspora 2024".
  10. "Start Kathmandu-Guangzhou flight: NRNs Archived 20 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine ", The Himalayan Times, 30 May 2011.
  11. 1 2 3 "Immigrant and Emigrant Populations by Country of Origin and Destination". 10 February 2014.
  12. "GtR". gtr.ukri.org. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  13. "NRN Citizenship in Nepal: A 2-Day Service - NRN Services & Consulting". nrnlawnepal.com. 2024-06-05. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  14. "NRN ID Card in Nepal: Reliable NRN Service in Nepal". nrnlawnepal.com. 2024-06-05. Retrieved 2024-06-28.