Tibet travel permit
In case you’re interested in visiting the wonderfully cold and mysterious land of Tibet, you’ll require a Tibet travel permit as well as a Chinese visa. There are actually two kinds of permits that you need when visiting Tibet, one being a Tibet Entry Permit – this is required for all foreign tourists – and the second one is the Tibet Travel Permit – which you’ll need to enter the closed or restricted areas of Tibet, such as Mount Everest.
The Entry Permit is a simple piece of paper which has your group itinerary on it, and this is required to have on you especially if you fly into Tibet, but it is highly advisable for you to enter via land. Thankfully all Tibet tours operators and Tibet travel agencies can help you to apply for a Tibet Travel Permit. In case you’re traveling in a group, you should keep a xerox copy of the group permit on you, in case you accidentally split from the group.
The fact of the matter is that you’ll need the help of a travel agent because individuals cannot apply for permit by themselves. Lhasa PSB will not issue travel permits unless they are approached by a travel agency.
There are a couple of things that you will need to consider and do before starting the procedures of getting a Tibet travel visa, namely you’ll first need Chinese visa.
Applying for a Chinese visa isn’t that much harder than getting a visa for any other country but you might not want to mention that you’re planning to go to Tibet because they might refuse you outright if you mention Tibet. Getting a Tibet travel permit is much easier once you’re already in China and have a Chinese visa.
In order to apply for a Tibet travel visa you’ll need the following things:
- personal information: full name, gender, date of birth, nationality, passport number and your occupation;
- a copy of your Passport;
- a copy of your China tourist visa.
Keep in mind that you will need to submit all of these documents at least ten days before your entry date.
Once you have your Tibet travel permit, it will be held by your tour guide and this is quite important, it will not allow you to travel anywhere within Tibet. In order to do this you’ll need a different permit called an ‘Aliens Permit’ if you wish to visit other places except the capital Lhasa.
