Getting Money From Nepal To USA

It is quite difficult, but you should be able to get your initial deposit if you have validation on where it came from. Just get it set up properly. I see a lot of potential in Nepal.

I think there are a lot more ways to earn a good, living wage and investment in Nepal over the US. It may take a bit of creativity, but Asia is where the money is going in the 21 century. We have a nice middle class emerging.

Nepal is pretty far behind as far as services and infrastructure go. It's ready for many types of businesses - maybe not mobile pet grooming - but lots of things.

You would possibly get into a lot of trouble for 'money laundering' if you try to take any out, but you could send products to convert the money legally. Just keep track of the money that comes from abroad for your investment. I think a lawyer would set it up for you and the good news is attorneys don't earn $500 an hour.

The nepalese rupee is a non-convertible currency and as long as it remains non-convertible, it cannot be traded or exchanged on any of the world's foreign exchange markets. The NPR is worthless paper currency in NY, London or Paris. No bank abroad will accept NRB banknotes.  Investment in Nepal may be compared to a one way street. Not two way. Once dollars are officially converted into local currency at the bank here, that's it. It's virtually impossible to go back into dollars.
During my long stay in Nepal, I had the pleasure and the privilege to come to know a fair number of foreigners who came to this country to help the people here. Among them was an american group which was based in Michigan. They were generously helping no less than 450 kids in this country with their schooling, education and the like. Another group of foreigners who became good friends of mine were italians and likewise they helped some 200 nepali children. But let me hasten to add that in both instances, these donors kept their base  of operations in the home country - one in the USA and the other in Europe, notably to avoid any possible currency convertibility problems.  I don't think it ever entered their mind that they should "transfer" their home base to Nepal, to fall subject to restrictive nepali regulations. My advice would be for you to take advice from an international lawyer in Salt Lake City or New York, who can guide you, and who's made it a specialty to counsel care and charitable organizations. If your american advisors agree you should go take the "non profit" route, I would strongly advise in that eventuality that in order for YOU, to keep essential financial control, you then create:
a. an INGO in the States which would then most likely take the form of an american 501 (C) (3)
(whose donations in the US can then be tax-deductible for donors there - making it that much easier to raise further funds there, should you want to)
and completely separately
b. a distinct NGO entity in Nepal.
Both a. and b. could be given exactly the same name, but one would be a US entity and the second one would be a nepali entity - controlled, note by a nepali board on which no foreigner can sit - which would then be regulated under the aegis of the Social Welfare Council and all their restrictions, rules, etc. that you'd also have to familiarize yourself with. Whatever you do, it seems to me that it is essential for you to keep your hands on the purse strings - and the creation of the INGO makes that possible.
With three years before you, it seems to me that you've got plenty of time to study all this and decide on how best and more sensibly move this project forward to help the people of this country. Wish you all the best.

Very well thought out thank you very much! We have an NGO (2) in Nepal and I have set up a 501C3 here in the US so I imagine that we can do that again..

I will have to talk to some attorneys here and there and see what we can figure out. I know that I could buy gold in Nepal at roughly the same rate as the US and had thought about that or diamonds and moving them out.

Evana Manandar is a close friend of my wife ( miss Nepal 2016) and her family does real estate in Nepal and the US. I wonder if I can contact them to see how they are doing it?

One of my employees is in India and there are lots of Indian businessmen in Nepal. I wonder if a work around might be via India?

So many things to think about..

If in the future the problem should arise that you have too much/excess nepalese rupee cash just sitting there in Nepal, and you are looking for a way to get this money out of country safely and legally into american currency -  and provided as you seem to indicate you have good foreigner/expat friends whom you can fully trust residing in Nepal who can make use of local currency for living purposes here - nothing too complicated really. Quite simply you turn the NPR cash over to your trustworthy foreigner friends in Kathmandu on the pre-arranged firm condition that they will do a bank-to-bank SWIFT transfer to you from their dollar account in the States to your account in the States, to pay you back in 2-3 days.  It's all above board, strictly a between two-foreigner private deal and kept outside of nepalese jurisdiction.
To induce your foreign friends to do this exchange, you give them an incentive of 3-6 rupees over what the dollar is quoted by the banks in Kathmandu on any given day. If say the dollar is 108, depending on how generous you are, you give your foreign friends the benefit of 3-6 rupees more per dollar - i.e. a 111-114 nrs rate. It's a good deal for them, and easy for you. A win-win situation.
Personally, I wouldn't touch the gold or 99% of the so-called "precious" stones offered by nepalis. Too many fakes.
Note: never even consider using the illegal "hundi" system. Besides, I wouldn't touch those people with a 10 foot pole! Why risk mysteriously losing it all in Singapore with these questionable intermediaries?

Once again your reply is very erudite! Thank you!

I really like that last suggestion.. I can see how that would work very well and I have a number of expat friends living there and I could even exchange for people who visit our charity I think.

I would like to start a business or two over there maybe investing 200-300,000 USD and would like to be able to pull money profits or principle if we sold it after a while.

We currently have about 30K there in a family account and some property but I really am not sure I want to see it all go there and stay there for ever if and when we put in larger amounts

Thank you kindly for your compliment. Glad to help.
I don't have to tell you - I am sure you know - that there is nothing easy about doing business here.
As a result of my long exposure to this country, I would now take the view that under present conditions, I wager it is a great deal easier to do business with Nepal, than to attempt to do business in Nepal. That's one man's opinion...for what it's worth.
As that other american lady contributor wrote so wisely here, "never invest more money in Nepal than you can afford to lose." And if that is true, why either:
a. risk it and only to end up in a position where one is unable to repatriate one's capital or earnings when you want to?
or
b. worse still, lose one's hard earned capital?
Like we said, you have lots of time to think about all this.
I am in no doubt that you will take the right as well as wise decision when the time comes.

I think you are correct. I do think there are many untapped opportunities however. I would put everything in my wife's name and that simplifies a lot but is still hard I think..

My world bank friends there tell me there is a lot of opportunity in the construction arena as the building codes and manner of building is changing there.

I have had some success working with a restaurant in Thamel as well and got national coverage on tv and think that the right blend of marketing and product could be profitable as well.

I just want to put people to work, make a little money, and be able to enjoy my life from 58 onwards with wife and kids that we are having.

With FATCA however if I didn't have kids I would opt for exiting permanently from the US but not sure that Nepal is where I would want to have my one and only citizenship at this point.

I could not agree more with everything you say.
Re your last paragraph, I also think you've hit the nail on the head.  As I see it, that last point you made about citizenship is really the crux of the matter. I for one will be most interested to learn what decision you reach on this one and most vital question in the months or years ahead.
Please keep us posted. I am serious!

Are you in Nepal currently or somewhere else now? If you are there we will be there in October. My cousin runs Mercy Corps in Nepal but I can't hardly get him to answer an email or phone.. I know he is busy but... and from our last conversation I really don't think he knows Nepal that well outside of the NGO or INGO experience. Amazing how many of our friends can't find housing for less than $1400 a month there and yet we find lots of decent and acceptable places for $400.

With KFC being just about the only place to get soft serve ice-cream I keep thinking that would be a good corner business in Chitwan and other hot cities.

How did you spend your time there mainly>?

Will keep in touch.

Theo, Thanks for all that info. Lots to think about.

But with the wife being Nepali, why not just keep the US agency in husband's name and Nepali in wife's name. Then fund the one from the one abroad. That's where the money will come from, anyway. Walran, so grateful for the work you are doing with the street kids. Do you have a link for more info? Our little agency, Kay Garnay for Nepal, teams up with others quite often, from hosting their volunteers to promoting their crowdfunder, we are happy to help. Did I misunderstand? Is your wife Nepali citizen? or Nepali heritage?

Amanda,

Yes, my wife is Nepali, a doctor and was a senior administrator for Chitwan Medical school. She founded eternal hope Nepal with some friends from the hospital. Facebook has daily updates there if you look under Eternal Hope Nepal and our site is www.eternalhopenepal.com. She also founded and started Days for Girls Nepal in 2015 and spoke last spring at the UN on women's issues in Nepal and Asia. She is from Kathmandu.

Monday our charity with Days for Girls will reach out to more than 2000 children in 27 schools and provide menstrual hygiene training and free kits to the girls with reusable sanitary pads.

I was on a humanitarian trip with Choice Humanitarian in March 2015 and met her  while she was leaving to live in a convent in Greece as a nun for a few months and after some minor twists we got married April of 2016 when I brought her to the US on a fiance visa and have been living in Utah since then. She says she is happy here or wherever I am, has many friends, but says that "nobody really needs her in America and if it weren't for me she would return". My family all adore her here.  She has done so much good in Nepal that I vowed to God to try and return within 5 years for good.  She plans on running for office upon our return.

We work with refugees from Bhutan and Nepal currently every week several days here in our state and go back to Nepal usually for 1-2 months each year.

I am much more boring, have been published in business a bit ( boring) and am a real estate investor, have a construction company, manage 130 agents as a real estate broker and have a few partners in a brokerage "Equity Real Estate" with 3,000 agents all of which sounds more cool and profitable than it probably is ( started over 5 years ago after a divorce and am rebuilding) and is...boring.

I thrive on challenge, change, and new things and opportunities where I can do good and help others. Love having a wife who will wade through sewage to work with needy children with me and I am so excited for Nepal  I can hardly stand it! I think about it almost every day!

Getting all our ducks in line so we can make the move, live, earn some decent money there while providing good work and above average wages for slum children who graduate from high-school and EHN and leave the slums.

So grateful to you and Theo for responding

You and Theo inspire me and my life is wonderful! I am 55, trying to have kids with my young wife and have never ever been happier in my life. We enjoy every minute!

Namaste!