Tibet Travel Permit or Tibet Entry Permit is the official document that permits foreign travellers to enter Tibet and travel in Tibet.Â
Only foreign passport holders and visitors from Taiwan need to apply for a permit or Tibet Visa. Mainland citizens, Hong Kong, and Macao residents do not need to do so.
It is the secondary travel document to travel in Tibet besides the China Visa. Here is the recent 2025 permit update.
Among several permits, the Tibet Travel Permit (Tibet Entry Permit) is the foremost one foreign passport holders can use to enter Tibet.
Tibet Tourism Bureau issues the Permit, which is called the Tibet Tourism Bureau Permit or TTB Permit. With this permit, foreigners can visit Lhasa, Shigatse, Everest, Mt Kailash, etc.
Obtaining a Tibet Entry Permit requires a booking tour through a travel agency in Tibet. By travelling as a group accompanied by a tour guide and driver, you can get your permit with a travel agency’s help with your valid passport and Chinese Visa. (This means that Independent travellers are not allowed to visit Tibet.)
We will apply for packaged Permits (including TTB Permits and other necessary permits) for you to have a worry-free tour in Tibet. It usually takes about 15~20 days to obtain the permit (apply, wait for approval, and receive the permit).
Tibet focus travel & tours will give free permits for all travellers worldwide.
The permit for travel in Tibet can only be processed in Tibet. The information submitted to the Tibet Tourism Bureau, the Public Security Bureau, the Foreign Affairs Office (more than one department-approved).
Many websites say that Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu have offices that can handle the permit, but all this information is outdated and has long been cancelled.Â
Therefore, in new regulations, only the local travel agency in Tibet can handle the permit into Tibet and receive foreign guests and Taiwan tourists to travel to Tibet.
Some travel agencies outside of Tibet said that they could handle the permit. But in fact, they sold the tourists to the travel agency in Tibet to take, so it would be better to find a travel agency in Tibet directly for convenience, responsible, and reliability.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When you received the China group Visa from our counterpart Nepal agency, you need to pay 10USD per person as a service fee. This fee is not refundable in any case. Thank you for your understanding!
According to the China National Railway Administration’s rules and regulations, foreign travellers need a Tibet Entry Permit to train Tibet. Therefore, a permit is required when you or your agent book Tibet train tickets at the railway station or branch offices.
It is also needed when you check on your train at the railway station. The Tibet Travel Permit photocopy is also available if you book a train ticket and board the Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Xining, and Guangzhou train. Then, when you arrive at Lhasa, your tour operator will bring you the original permit.
If you take the train from Xian, Lanzhou, and Chongqing, the original permit is required.
According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC)’s regulation, foreign travellers must provide a valid passport and Tibet Permit (Tibet Tourism Bureau Permit) when taking a flight to Tibet. Without the Tibet Travel Permit, foreign travellers cannot board flights to Tibet.
Thus, foreign travellers must ensure that the original Permit will be brought and provided when checking domestic flights to Tibet.
If you take a flight from Kathmandu to Lhasa, you need to show your passport with the Chinese group Visa to check-in at the Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport. After arriving at Lhasa Gongkar International Airport, your Tibetan local tour guide will bring the original Tibet Permit to the airport to pick it up.
(Note: Usually, the Tibet Entry Permit is unnecessary to book the flight to Tibet online. However, you will have to show the Tibet Travel Permit if you book a ticket from the ticket counter or a flight ticket agent.)
Latest Situation of Travel in Tibet
Tibet travels for Oversea Tourists and foreign Expats living, working and studying in China is open from 15th March 2024. The Tibet travel permit usually takes a couple of weeks, and the latest trip date could be in the first week of April 2024.
Expats in China usually have a Work Visa (Z Visa) or residence permit. But you still need a Tibet entry permit to visit Tibet. The following documents are required to apply for a Tibet permit:
Aliens’ Travel Permit permits foreigners to visit the areas outside Lhasa, like Shigatse, Shannan, Nyingchi, etc. Tibet Local Public Security Bureau issues the permit. It’s also is known as the PSB permit and can be easily applied in Lhasa, Shigatse, Nyingchi, or other prefectures.
Visiting the unopened area only with the TTB permit is not possible. A military Permit is also needed if your itinerary includes some military-sensitive places, including the Ngari region (Mt. Kailash, Lake Manasarovar, etc.), Nyingchi (Pomi, Rawu, etc.), and some remote places in the Shannan area.
Chinese Group Visa, also called Group Visa, a foremost document and Tibet Permit used for tourists planning to enter Tibet from Nepal. As a special Chinese Visa, the China Group Visa is valid for mainland China visit as well. After you finish your Tibet tour, you can use the same Group Visa to extend your trip to other mainland China destinations. If you have such a plan, we can apply for the Group Visa with maximum validity.
Remote destinations, such as Mount Everest, Zhangmu, Yadong, Mount Kailash, Mansarovar Lake, etc., are located in the border area between China’s Tibet with other countries. To travel to these destinations, one has to obtain a Tibet Border Pass (or Frontier Pass) that travellers cannot apply individually. You must contact a local Tibetan travel agency to apply for the Border Permit from the Tibet army police border headquarter in Lhasa.
Chinese Visa is the foremost document to process the permit if you travel to Tibet from mainland China. After you received the Chinese Visa, you need to send Visa a clear scan copy. With this Chinese Visa, we apply for all the necessary permits as per your schedule. It takes about 10 working days to get the permit.