How to Get a Migration Certificate in Nepal (Basai Sarai)
Migration registration is the personal event most families skip, and the one with the strictest precondition: every other event for every family member must already be registered. This guide covers the leaving and arriving document sets, the single-member rule, and what to do when a child is left off.
Independent guide, not an official website
Nepal Docs Guide is not affiliated with the Government of Nepal. This guide helps you prepare, but official portals and offices control final rules, fees, forms, and timelines.
Quick answer
Basai sarai is registered twice, once where you leave and once where you arrive. Leaving requires the records transfer form, the informant's citizenship, and citizenship or birth registration for each member depending on age. Arriving requires the original transfer form you were given plus the household head or informant's citizenship. The precondition catches most people: every personal event of every family member must already be registered before migration can be registered at all. The informant must be a family member aged 18 or over. बसाइँ सराइ दर्ता नगरे बसोबास गरेको ठाउँमा राज्यबाट पाइने सेवा सुविधाबाट बञ्चित हुन सकिन्छ।
Eligibility
- Families moving their permanent address from one local level to another
- A single family member aged 18 or over moving alone, subject to the registration precondition
- Households that have already moved but never registered the migration
- Families who registered a migration but left a minor off the record
- People who cannot access local services at their new address because the migration was never recorded
- Anyone updating records before a voter roll, school admission or local service application
Required documents checklist
- □ Leaving: the records transfer form
- □ Leaving: the informant's Nepali citizenship certificate
- □ Leaving: birth registration certificate for each family member under 16
- □ Leaving: citizenship certificate for each family member over 16
- □ Arriving: the original copy of the records transfer form issued at the previous ward
- □ Arriving: citizenship of the household head or the informant
- □ Evidence that every personal event of every family member is already registered, since this is a precondition rather than a formality
- □ The late fee, in the amount your ward office states, if past 35 days
Step-by-step process
- Clear the family record first. The department states that migration can only be registered once all personal events of all family members have been registered. An unregistered birth or marriage anywhere in the household will stop the migration.
- Confirm the informant is eligible. For migration the informant must be a family member aged 18 or over.
- Go to the ward office you are leaving and obtain the records transfer form, taking the informant's citizenship and the age-appropriate document for every member: birth registration under 16, citizenship over 16.
- Keep the original transfer form safe. It is not a copy you can reprint on demand, and the receiving ward requires the original.
- Go to the ward office you are moving into with that original transfer form and the citizenship of the household head or informant.
- If only one adult is moving, note the extra condition. A single family member aged 18 or over can migrate alone, but every event for that person and their family must be registered, and that person must be the informant themselves.
- If a minor was left off a completed migration, act on the timing. Within one year it can be amended under the rules. Once the amendment period has expired, a fresh migration registration is made with the household head or an adult family member as informant.
- Note that the office-recommendation route does not apply here. Government employees can register other personal events at the ward where their office sits, but the department excludes migration from that concession.
- Check the issued record before leaving, since the address on it drives your access to local services.
Fees and timelines
- The department states that a personal event can be registered free of charge within 35 days, or after that on payment of a late fee. Migration sits within the same framework.
- No single national late fee figure is published on an accessible department page. Local levels administer registration, so confirm the amount with the relevant ward office.
- The real timeline driver is the precondition. If any family member has an unregistered birth, death, marriage or divorce, that has to be resolved first, and that can take far longer than the migration itself.
- Migration is a two-office process. Plan for a visit at the ward you leave and another at the ward you join, which is difficult to compress when the two are far apart.
- A missed minor can be amended within one year under the rules; after that the correction becomes a fresh registration.
- DoNIDCR publishes no guaranteed processing period for issuing the record.
Common mistakes
- Treating migration as optional. The department warns that failing to register it can leave you without access to services and facilities provided by the state at your place of residence.
- Turning up before the family record is clean. Migration cannot be registered until all personal events of all family members are registered, and wards apply this strictly.
- Losing the records transfer form. The receiving ward requires the original, and it is not a document you can casually replace.
- Registering at only one end. Leaving and arriving are two separate registrations at two different ward offices.
- Assuming a relative can act as informant for a single-member migration. Where one adult migrates alone, that person must be the informant themselves.
- Leaving a child off the record and discovering it years later. Within one year it is an amendment; afterwards it becomes a new registration.
- Bringing citizenship for a member under 16. The department specifies birth registration for under-16s and citizenship for over-16s.
- Expecting the government employee office-recommendation route to work. The department explicitly excludes migration from that concession.
Leaving and arriving are two different document sets
| Stage | What the department lists | Easy to get wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Leaving your old ward | Records transfer form, informant citizenship, birth registration for under-16s, citizenship for over-16s | Bringing citizenship for a child under 16 |
| Arriving at your new ward | Original records transfer form, household head or informant citizenship | Bringing a photocopy instead of the original |
| Before either step | All personal events of all family members already registered | This is the precondition that stops most applications |
| One adult moving alone | All events registered, and that person must be the informant | Sending a relative to act on their behalf |
| Minor left off the record | Amendment within one year, otherwise a fresh registration | Discovering it after the amendment window closes |
Guide at a glance
| Check | What to review |
|---|---|
| Who it helps | Families moving their permanent address from one local level to another |
| Key documents | Leaving: the records transfer form; Leaving: the informant's Nepali citizenship certificate; Leaving: birth registration certificate for each family member under 16; Leaving: citizenship certificate for each family member over 16 |
| First step | Clear the family record first. The department states that migration can only be registered once all personal events of all family members have been registered. An unregistered birth or marriage anywhere in the household will stop the migration. |
| Official source | Frequently asked questions - registration |
Final check before submission
Recheck the application against this common mistake: Treating migration as optional. The department warns that failing to register it can leave you without access to services and facilities provided by the state at your place of residence.. Then confirm the current instruction with Frequently asked questions - registration and keep evidence of submission.
Office and portal links
Printable checklist
How to Get a Migration Certificate in Nepal (Basai Sarai)
- Every personal event of every family member confirmed as registered
- Informant identified, family member aged 18 or over
- Records transfer form obtained at the ward you are leaving
- Informant citizenship certificate
- Birth registration certificate for each member under 16
- Citizenship certificate for each member over 16
- Original transfer form kept safe for the receiving ward
- Household head or informant citizenship for the arriving registration
- Single-member rule checked, if only one adult is moving
- Late fee confirmed with the ward, if past 35 days
- New record checked before leaving the counter
FAQ
Official sources
Use these references for final confirmation before applying. Nepal Docs Guide is independent and does not replace official instructions.
- Frequently asked questions - registration
Department of National ID and Civil Registration
Primary source for the leaving and arriving document sets, the requirement that all family events be registered first, the consequence of not registering, the single-member rule, the missed-minor amendment window, and the exclusion of migration from the government employee office route.
- Online personal event registration application
Department of National ID and Civil Registration
Official citizen-facing application route where the ward is on the online system.
- Ward offices registering personal events from the online information system
Department of National ID and Civil Registration
Official list determining whether the online route exists for either ward.
- Registration circulars
Department of National ID and Civil Registration
Official circulars updating registration practice between legal amendments.
- Registration instructions
Department of National ID and Civil Registration
Official instructions issued to local registrars.
- Acts
Department of National ID and Civil Registration
Department-hosted primary legislation governing civil registration.
- Regulations
Department of National ID and Civil Registration
Department-hosted regulations including the amendment provisions referenced by the FAQ.
- Department of National ID and Civil Registration
Department of National ID and Civil Registration
Official department home page under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Need official confirmation?
If your case involves corrections, deadlines, legal use, foreign submission, or a rejected application, contact the relevant official office before paying fees or submitting documents.
Author
Nepal Docs Guide Editorial Desk
Citizen services research team
The editorial desk prepares independent, plain-language summaries from cited official sources and reader correction reports. It does not claim government affiliation, professional credentials, or field testing.
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