Tibet Travel Permit & Visa

China Visa, also known "Chinese Visa" or "China Entry Visa", is an officially approved document issued by authorized bodies of Chinese government, to foreign tourists applying for to enter, leave or transit through mainland China.

A valid passport with a standard China Visa is essential for all travelers coming in China. It is generally applied for at a Chinese Embassy of your country in advance. The cost and process time varies according to the nationality of the application and the type of visa required. If certain visa exemption is applicable to them, travelers will exempt from China Visa.

Group Visa is a type of China Entry Visa. It is used for the foreign tourists who want to travel to Tibet from Nepal and don't need to apply for a China Visa as others hold when entering mainland China. Even if you have holden a China Visa, you have to apply for Group Visa in Kathmandu and the China Visa you have holden before automatically expires when the new one is applied for. However, there is a advantage that you can enter mainland China, only holding Group Visa.

When you apply for Group Visa, you need submit TTB permit and Invitation Letter ( Tibet local travel agency can help you ) to the Nepal local travel agency ( they help you to apply for at Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu ), and 4-day or more to get it. Its validity is 15 to 20 days. The price is different for foreign tourists from different countries.

Tibet Tourism Bureau Permit, also known as "Tibet Entry Permit", "Tibet Visa", is a must-have permission from Chinese government for all foreign tourists entering to Tibet from mainland China, Nepal or other countries. All foreign tourists should entrust a Tibet local travel agency to apply for it from Tibet Tourism Bureau at least 20 days prior to their Tibet tour starting.

According to official information, the application does not charged, but you need to pay for application service of the travel agency because they spend a lot on human resource to handle the application, such as sorting out travel information, preparing paper and electronic documents, dealing with several government departments, delivering the document to tourists, etc.

Aliens' Travel Permit, also known as "PSB Permit", is a "must" for those who are planing to travel the "unopened areas "outside Lhasa, such as Ngari Prefecture, Mt. Everest. This permit is issued by the local Public Security Bureau ( PSB ) of Tibet's different prefectures.

Fortunately, Aliens' Travel Permit is quite easy to be applied. After arrival at Lhasa, you offer your passport and Tibet Tourism Bureau Permit to your tour guide and they can deal with it for you. It normally takes you several hours and the fee is 50 yuan per person.

Military Permit is a permit for those who are planning to travel the military sensitive areas in Tibet, such as overland from/to Sichuan, Yunnan, Xinjiang or Qinghai; Pomi, Nagri Prefecture and other borders with other countries. Traveling together with TTB permit and PSB permit.

This permit application is not accepted from individual. All foreign tourists need to entrust a Tibet local travel agency to apply for it along with TTB Permit in Military office of Lhasa in advance, and it normally takes 1 to 2 working days and the fee is about 100 yuan per person.

Frontier Pass is the official permission for all travelers from home and abroad, who want to tour the border between Tibet with other province of China or other countries, such as Everest Base Camp, Mt. Kailash, etc. Without this paper, foreign travelers won’t be allowed to go to Mt. Everest or Nepal via Zhangmu Border. Even if you fly to Kathmandu from Lhasa, you will be asked to show the pass at the airport.

It is issued by Armed Police Tibet Frontier Corps in Lhasa. But travelers always entrust Tibet local travel agency to apply for it. The application time may be 3 to 5 days.