Rule card · Nepal
Keep your Ncell number active while abroad
Keep an Ncell prepaid number active abroad: outgoing stops 14 days after main-balance validity ends, then both directions. Unused six months is a shop visit.
Checked against official pages on September 28, 2026. Rules move; when this one does, it goes on the changelog.
Rule at a glance
prepaid accounts only- If you do nothing
- Recharge page. Uninterrupted while main-balance validity remains. After expiry, outgoing interrupted 14 days, then both directions. Contact-us unused six months goes to Pre-deactivate; shop visit; Rs. 100
- Cheapest way to hold it
- A recharge in a published band. Rs 50 to 99.99 prints 30 days
- Roaming needed to receive codes abroad
- Unverified (The recharge page is a home-network validity table. Whether inbound texts while abroad reset that count is unverified)
- Twelve months away, roughly
- Not a published annual retention charge. Rs 1000 and above prints 730 days
Keep an Ncell prepaid number active abroad by reading two live Ncell pages. The recharge page runs a validity table and a 14-day interrupt. The contact-us FAQ runs a six-month Pre-deactivate state. They do not share a day 0.
Main-balance validity, then 14 days
Ncell's recharge page states the keep-alive: "Prepaid customers can enjoy uninterrupted Ncell services as long as the main balance remains valid. Once the validity of the main balance expires, outgoing calls will be interrupted for 14 days. After 14 days of the interruption of outgoing calls, both incoming and outgoing services will be interrupted."
The table on that page sets the validity being counted:
| Recharge value (Rs.) | Validity (days) |
|---|---|
| 50 to 99.99 | 30 |
| 100 to 199.99 | 60 |
| 200 to 299.99 | 140 |
| 300 to 499.99 | 200 |
| 500 to 999.99 | 360 |
| 1000 and above | 730 |
The cap sits in a note under the table: "Customers can extend the validity of their main balance up to a maximum of 730 days."
A later recharge does not cut a longer remainder. The same page states: "Recharge validity is determined by the top-up amount. For subsequent recharges of any denomination, the validity is set according to the most recent recharge. However, if the latest recharge provides a shorter validity period than the account's currently remaining validity, the existing longer validity will be retained."
Balance transfer and Saapati sit outside that date. The recharge page states: "Validity date is not applicable on balance received via balance transfer and Saapati service."
During the interruption, a recharge resumes. The recharge page states: "In the event of service interruption, customers can recharge their account at any time using any available recharge medium to resume and enjoy Ncell services once again." That sentence is the interrupt window. It is not Pre-deactivate.
Six months, then Pre-deactivate
Ncell's contact-us FAQ, under SIM Services, answers a question about time out of the country: "If you do not use the number for six months, the number goes to Pre-deactivate state. In order to reactivate the number, you can visit nearby Ncell center or Ncell Shop with the valid original document. Reactivation charge is Rs. 100."
That visit is the original document at a center or shop. It is not the "any available recharge medium" sentence on the other page. Six months unused is not the 14-day outgoing interrupt.
Nepal Telecom's GSM tariff sells rupee bands with no freeze ladder on the file we opened. Ncell's 14 days live on the recharge page. The Nepal country page keeps the two Ncell clocks apart.
Before you fly
- Count from main-balance validity on the recharge page, not from leftover rupees.
- After expiry, outgoing is interrupted 14 days, then both directions. Recharge by any medium resumes, on that page.
- Unused six months is contact-us Pre-deactivate: a shop visit with the original document, Rs. 100.
- Transfer and Saapati do not carry the validity date.
- The number on this card is Ncell prepaid in Nepal.