Tibet Travel Permit

Question: What is Tibet Travel Permit?
Firstly, please be noted that Chinese visa and Tibet travel permit is two things totally different.

Tibet Travel Permit
Tibet Travel Permit is necessary for entry to Lhasa or any other part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, and are obtained through tour operators as part of arrangements for travel.

When you arrive in Lhasa or any city in Tibet, you will need to show Tibet travel permit at the airport or railway station. Furthermore, whenever you buy a flight or train to Lhasa you need to show this permit.

What a Tibet Travel Permit looks like?

China Visa
To enter Tibet, or any part of China excepting Hong Kong and Macao (Visitors to Hong Kong, holding passports from the some countries DO NOT need a visa when staying for a specified free period), a Chinese visa is necessary. It may be best to obtain it before leaving your home country unless you are taking a package tour to enter Tibet overland from Nepal.

The first rule when applying for a visa as an independent traveler is to expect that you will be refused a visa if you mention plans to visit Tibet. There is a trick that when you apply for the Chinese visa, you can’t tell the officer that you have the plan for traveling to Tibet; you can only inform them you want to travel to somewhere else of China. Or else the application would become complicated and arduous.

Please keep in mind
1. When entering China it is best to have a visa covering the expected duration of stay. Getting extensions inside China can involve delays and other difficulties.

2. You need to apply for a double- or multiple entry visa when you need to leave and re-enter mainland China. Please note that, even when you leave for Hong Kong or Macao from mainland China, you still need to have a double- or multiple entry visas.

3. When you apply for China visa, please do not mention Tibet. After you get China visa you can easily get Tibet permit. Otherwise you have to wait for Tibet permit and then you can get China visa. Of course you will face the risk of that you might be refused to come to Tibet even if you get China visa but your destination is Tibet.

Question: Can you arrange a Tibet travel permit before the tour begins?

For sure we can arrange this for your or your group.  Usually, a Tibet permit has to be issued at least two weeks prior to your entry date.    We need to prepare every necessary document in advance, and we will apply a permit for you only after you have paid the deposit for a tour to Tibet.

If you need to fly to Tibet in 10 days, scan your passport and contact us now! 

Question: Without booking your tour, can you offer a Tibet travel permit?
We don't provide "permit-only" service. 

When we prepare the documents for your Tibet Travel Permit, Chinese authority asks every travel agency to provide details of your booking informations and your personal informations.

We only help the clients who want to book Tibet tours from Sinoway Travel.

Question: How to apply Tibet Permit?

To apply the Tibet travel permit, we need the following information.

full name appears on the passport; gender;
date of birth;
passport number & copy of passport;
nationality;
occupation;
Visa No. & copy of Visa.

Special Note:
Please be sure all exactly the same as on your passport.

All kinds of people can get Tibet permit through a travel agency except diplomats, journalists, and government officials who should travel to Tibet under the arrangement by the Foreign Affairs Office of Tibet Government.

Service charge by the government to get the Tibet permit is 7 US dollars per person. This is incl. in the tour package we quoted to you.

You need to apply for the travel permit at least 10 days prior to your entry date.

Please provide all the necessary documents to us at your earlist time. Because it is also requested to show Tibet travel permit while booking flight tickets or train tickets.

Question: Travel to Tibet through Nepal?

If you entry Tibet from Kathmandu, Nepal, you are required to obtain a Chinese visa in the consulate of P.R China in Kathmandu, the opening time for the Consulate of P.R China in Kathmandu is only available from 9:30AM-11:00AM on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please note this visa application is compulsory despite you have already had a Chinese visa in your country or not since this is regulated by the border treaty signed between Nepal and China.

The Chinese visa you get in Kathmandu is a “group visa”. A “group visa” is not entered in travelers’ passports but is a separate sheet of paper issued in duplicate by the Chinese consulate in Katmandu, listing all members of the group. It usually allows a stay of 15 or 20 days. A “group” may be any number of travelers, and may be just one traveler. One or more travelers entering Tibet together with others may wish to have their own separate group visa so they are able to separate from the others. Obtaining a group visa requires at least two clear days in Katmandu.

Question: Tibet government traveling bureau

There are government travel bureau in some big cities in China, which should provide official information about traveling to Tibet. One can also complain or report mistreatment from the private travel agencies to this organization. They are the one issues the permits to the traveling agencies. They would also provide you a list of “trusted” travel agencies that you can contact.

The following is a list of phone numbers for different branches of the Tibet government traveling bureau:

Hong Kong
Phone:（00852）28383391
Fax:（00852）28841535

Chengdu
Phone: 028-8551719
Fax: 028-8551719

Shanghai
Phone: 021-62288845、64311084
Fax: 021-63231016

Beijing
Phone: 010- 84477899
Fax: 010- 84476503

Xian
Phone: 029-87815987
Fax: 029-87815987

Shangri la, Yunnan
Phone: 0877-8229028
Fax: 0877-8227892