Tibet Travel Permit is an essential document required for all International Visitors to visit Tibet Autonomous Region. Without this document, no one can enter Tibet. In this Tibet travel guide, we will discuss entirely on this permit.
This Travel Document also knows as Tibet Visa, Tibet entrance permit, and Tibet Permit. Using the term Tibet Visa is completely wrong, and it often misleads travellers while planning their journey to Tibet.
Tibet is a part of the People’s Republic of China, and you need only one visa to visit the entire country. But there are different additional permit required to visiting some special places like Tibet.
Tibet Travel Permit is issued by the Lhasa base, Tibet Tourism Bureau. Hence only a local Travel agency based in Lhasa, Tibet, can apply it on your behalf.
Lama Mani Tours is a local Tibetan owned travel agency in Lhasa. Owned by a very experienced Tibetan women tour guide. We have successfully arranged Tibet travel Permits for thousands of International visitors. Following are our tips on Tibet travel permit.
Click here to find our complete Tibet Travel Guide.
Who needs the Tibet Travel Permit
All international Travellers need to get a Tibet travel permit in order to visit Tibet. Here are some details on who needs this permit to Visit Tibet.
- All foreign citizens, including overseas Chinese how do not hold Chinese Passport.
- A resident of Taiwan (They need to contact travel agencies with the license to host them in Tibet).
- The permit is not required for People from Hongkong and Macau. They only require either a Chinese SAR passport or a Home Returns permit.
Yet it is important to know that for diplomats and journalist. You can not arrange your visit to Tibet via a Travel agency as a regular tourist. Your visit has to be approved by China Foreign Affairs Office. It is recommended to contact the local Chinese Embassy in your region.
How to Apply for Tibet Travel Permit?
1) Book your tour with license Travel Agency base in Lhasa, Tibet
As per the Tourism regulation of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. All the tours for international travel have to be a Guided tour. A local travel agency like us has to organise your tour including, the Tibet travel permit, Tour guide and a tour vehicle outside the Lhasa city.
So you will have to book your tour with a local Travel agency in Lhasa either directly or indirectly.
2) Informations required for applying your permit
Upon booking your tour with us ( Travel agency in Tibet). You will have to send us the following information.
- Your valid Passport.
- Your Chinese Visa. (Please refer to the Chinese Visa Section below).
- Deposit for the tour. We have to submit a bank receipt of your deposit in the application for a permit.
3) Duration of permit application
Though the process of applying for your permit. We have to take it through several Department. As per your tour itinerary, we have made additional permits like; Aliens permit, Border permit, and Military permits. So it takes about 20 days to 30 days for the permit application to finish.
Chinese Visa for Visiting Tibet
We need a photo of your passport and Chinese Visa to apply for a Tibet travel permit. We understand there are much contradictory information about getting a Chinese Visa to Visit Tibet. In this section, we will discuss it.
1) Chinese Visa for Traveling to Tibet from other cities in China.
Suppose you are travelling to Tibet from other cities in China. You will have to get your regular Chinese Visa from the nearest Chinese embassy or Consulate.
Some times they may ask for a Visa invitation. All travel agency in Lhasa can ask the Tibet tourism bureau to send an official Visa invitation to the Chinese Embassies in your country. From where you can easily secure a Chinese Group Visa.
Yet this Visa invitation will be addressed to a Chinese Embassy in your country, not Consulate. This is why you need to apply for a visa only at the Chinese embassy.
It is always better to apply for a Chinese Visa without mentioning Tibet as your travel destination in China.
2) Chinese group Visa for Traveling to Tibet from Nepal.
Nepal is the only international destination to enter into proper Tibet Autonomous directly. It is a major route to travel to Tibet. There are slightly different regulations regarding the Chinese Visa and Application of Tibet entrance permit for those travellers visiting us from Nepal.
A) Chinese Group Visa
For all the tourist entering Tibet from Nepal, It is mandatory to get a Chinese Group Visa from the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu.
Your regular Chinese Visa on your passport is not enough to get you to Tibet.
Chinese Group Visa is a visa on a piece of A4 paper. You will get two copies of it from the embassy, each for Arrival and departure in China. Please do not leave it at your Kathmandu hotel or Kathmandu Airport.
You will have to use a Visa agent in Kathmandu to apply for it at the embassy. They will not entertain the individual applicant to apply for a Visa directly. Therefore we will send your visa invitation to the Visa agent of your choosing or Ours.
The process of Chinese Group visa application takes about three Business Days. You can leave for Lhasa on the fourth day. Please be aware of Chinese and Nepalese National holidays during your wait for it in Nepal.
B) Tibet Travel Permit
We can apply for the Tibet travel permit without your Chinese Visa. Hence You will only have to send us a copy of our passport.
Tips for successfully getting your Tibet Travel Permit.
At all the entrance point to Tibet, You will be check for the Tibet travel permit. Without this document in your hand, you cant enter Tibet.
So, it is essential to know how you will get this document before entering Tibet. So in this post, we will explain base on the point of entry to Tibet.
The only way to get to Tibet is either through other parts of China or travelling internationally from Nepal to Tibet.
1) Tibet from Other parts of China
When you travel to Tibet from other parts of China, you can travel overland by road, take the train to Lhasa or take a flight to Lhasa. We will arrange the permitted delivery based on the requirement and convenient in all these scenarios.
A) Flight from Other cities to Tibet.
In this situation, you will the original copy of the permit. They will check for it twice, during your flight to Lhasa. One before boarding the flight and another at arrival in Lhasa. Without it, you will not allow to board the flight.
We will send your permit to your hotel in Transiting city. You will have to send us your hotel information (Address and phone number), booking confirmation number. It is wise to let them know that you are expecting a parcel delivery before your arrival.
If you are not going to book the hotel in transiting city, we will arrange for someone to deliver the permit to the airport in Chengdu.
B) The train journey to Tibet.
Here you will only need to show them a copy of the permit. We will send it through email, and you can take a print out.
If you are taking the train from Chongqing to Lhasa. In such a case, we will have to send it to your hotel.
C) Overland Journey to Tibet
For all the overland journeys, our tour guide will bring the permit to the city where your guide tour began.
2) Nepal to Tibet
Suppose you are travelling to Tibet from Nepal. There is a completely different Visa policy. Please refer to the above section on Chinese Visa for Visiting Tibet. For those visiting Tibet from Nepal. There don’t have to worry about getting a permit before entering Tibet. Your Tour Guide will have it as you meet him/her at the border. Following are where and how you will meet your tour guide at the border.
A) At the Lhasa Airport
The border custom check on the Lhasa airport is located on the second floor. As you will come to the first floor, you will find another checkpoint. Here you will meet your tour guide holding your name. At this second checkpoint, they will check your Tibet travel permit. Your tour guide will have all the permit needed.
B) At the Land border port in Kyirong
At the border custom check, you will meet your tour guide. She will have your permits and will assist you in checking out.
Things to check on your Tibet Travel Permit
At your receive your permit. You must make sure to check the following things on it. You will not able to enter Tibet is those are mistaken or missing.
A) Your personal information.
Tibet travel permit contains two pages. The first page is all in Mandarin, and it contains your travel agency information and your destinations.
The second pages of the permit contain all your personal information. Please make sure to check if all are correct. If there are any mistakes, you will not be able to come to Tibet.
Some hidden features of Tibet travel permit
1) Non-extendable
Many travel website may say this permit is not extendable. But to its contrary, Tibet Travel Permit can be extended to limit numbers of days.
Suppose you would like to extend your stay in Tibet. You can ask your travel agency to extend the permit during the first three days while you are in Lhasa. Extending it in the last minutes could lead to its complications.
2) Advance confirmation is need.
In the process of applying for your Tibet travel permit. We have to take the application to many governments departments. Additional permits like Aliens permit are also required as per your tour itinerary.
So, it is safe to say. You will need to book your tour with us at least 45 days prior to your Tibet travel date.
3) Tibet travel permit is free and non commissionable
It is clearly stated on the Tibet Permit that there is no commission fee associate with it. No travel agency has to pay anyone in the process of applying for it for you.
Yet, It takes a person fulltime to go around applying it. Therefore some most agency charges a minimal amount to pay the salary for the permit boy.
4) Duration of validity of Permit
The validity duration of your permit depends on your Tibet tour itinerary. From our decades of experience in operating tours in Tibet. The maximum number of days we could add on a permit is 30 Days.
2021 Tibet Travel Permit Update
At the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic in early 2020. The Tibet Tourism Bureau announced that it has temporarily suspended accepting any new application until further notice.
We very hope that Tibet will be open for ex-pat living in China. Yet we have no update from the bureau. If we do, we will update this post.
Conclusion
We hope the above post makes it more comfortable while planning for your once in a lifetime journey to Tibet. All the information above is updated and accurate as of March 2021.
If you have any question about travelling to Tibet. Please do not hesitate in writing to us at info@lamamanitours.com.
Lama Mani Tours in a Lhasa base Tibetan travel agency own by a Tibetan Women tour guide.
Read more about Tibet Travel information and Tibet Tours packages. Please visit our blog: Nomadictibet.com