Visas & Entry
A layover is not always the free pass travelers assume. Here is when a connecting flight needs its own visa — the US, UK, Schengen and China rules…
By Laxman Rawal · Aug 17, 2026
A layover feels like a loophole. You never really enter the country — you step off one plane, walk to another gate, and step onto the next. Surely a passport control officer you never meet cannot ask for a visa? For a surprising number of countries in 2026…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The US is the classic trap because so many long-haul routes touch it and because it breaks the rule the rest of the world taught you. There is no sterile "international transfers" corridor at American airports. Every passenger connecting through the US is…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The UK draws a sharp line. If you change flights without passing through border control, some nationalities need a Direct Airside Transit Visa . If you will pass through border control but leave within 48 hours, that is the "visitor in transit" route. Per…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Most travelers picture the Schengen visa as the stamp that lets you walk out into Paris or Frankfurt. But the European Commission also maintains an Airport Transit Visa for nationals of certain countries, required "even to simply transit through the…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
China has moved the other way, and aggressively. There are two visa-free transit programs: a 24-hour transit-without-visa open to passengers of most nationalities at most ports, aimed at airside connections; and the expanded 240-hour (10-day) policy, which…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Almost nobody flies to Nepal non-stop. The common gateways into Kathmandu are Delhi (India), Doha (Qatar) and Istanbul (Turkey), with Middle Eastern and Chinese hubs close behind. The good news: for a straightforward airside connection at any of these, most…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Plan your trek
NMA-certified guides · permits sorted · 5,000+ treks since 1998.
$2050 pp
Free guide
Permits, costs, seasons and routes — the essentials we send every traveller, plus a free, no-obligation trip quote.
↑ Swipe up
Read the full report and grab the free Nepal Trek Insider Guide — or ask our Pokhara team for a tailored, no-obligation quote.
Read more & get the free guide Plan my trip — free quote Browse Everest Base Camp Trek — 15 Days