Visas and Travel Documents for a Tibet Nepal India Tour

If you are planning to travel to Tibet, Nepal, and India together, then you are going to need to know the requirements for visiting each of these amazing places in Asia. Lying together in the mighty Himalayas, India and Nepal both have border with Tibet Autonomous region of China, though, as a tourist, you can only travel to Tibet from Nepal, and not from India.

Only pilgrims from India have the ability to travel across the border between India and China, for travel to the sacred Mount Kailash, which is an arrangement between the Indian and Chinese governments to allow a certain number of pilgrims across the border to get to Mount Kailash for the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra. However, visas and permits for Indian pilgrims are not organized by tour operators, and can only be done through the official channels of the Foreign Affairs Office of the TAR and the Tibet-India pilgrim Reception Center in Lhasa.

Here we are going to share the information of how to get the visas and required travel documents for a Tibet Nepal India tour as a tourist.

Travel Permits for Visiting Tibet

Whether you are Indian, American, or any other nationality, in order to get into Tibet as a tourist, you need the Tibet Travel Permit, as well as several other permits, depending on where you are traveling in Tibet. None of these can be obtained without a pre-booked tour from a Tibet tour operator.

Chinese Visa

The first thing you need, before booking your tour, is the Chinese Entry Visa if you are entering Tibet from elsewhere in China. The visa can be applied for at your local Chinese Embassy, which can be found in almost every country in the world.

A Chinese Visa is requried to enter Tibet from mainland China.

Applications are normally made in Person, although in certain countries postal applications are allowed using a registered postal service (not a courier such as FedEx or UPS). The application requires you to have a valid passport with at least six month’s validity remaining at the time of travel, as well as two passport-sized photos, a completed application form, proof of booking for your flights and hotel in China, and the visa fee.

Applications made in person are usually completed and processed within three working days, though it can be a little longer sometimes. Once completed, you will be required to collect your passport with the visa stamp inside from the embassy itself. For postal applications, you will need to include a pre-paid registered envelope for return of your passport. It is best to use the country’s Post office registered mail service, as this is government-backed and more reliable.

Tibet Travel Permit

The Tibet Travel Permit is the most important permit for all foreign tourists entering Tibet from either Nepal or mainland China. While this permit is also required for Indian Pilgrims traveling from India to Tibet, it cannot be obtained from a regular tour operator.

In order to obtain the permit, once you have booked your tour with us, we will require scanned copies of your passport and visa, which will be used in the application process. Processing of the permit normally takes around 15 to 20 working days, so it is best to book your Tibet tour as early as possible to give us plenty of time to have your Tibet Travel Permit processed.

Once it is done, we will receive the permit from the office of the Tibet Tourism Bureau in Lhasa, and will forward either an original copy or a photocopy to your hotel in China. If you are traveling to Lhasa by flight, you will need the original copy, but if you are taking a train to Tibet from some cities, you only need a photocopy to show the guards and security.

>> Following 4 simple steps to apply your Tibet Travel Permit online.

Visa for Visiting Nepal

For those planning to visit Nepal, whether you need a visa depends on where you are traveling from. Citizens of certain countries either do not need a visa, get a free visa, or must have the visa before traveling to Nepal.

For Foreign Travelers

For citizens of most countries in the world, a visa is required for entry to Nepal. And for many of those citizens, they can make the application on their arrival in Nepal, at either the border crossing points or the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.

Travellers are applying the visas on arrival at Kathmandu airport.

The Visa on Arrival service means that, once you arrive at your point of entry, you can make the application for your visa on the spot. There are certain requirements for the Visa on Arrival service, and it is not available for the citizens of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iraq, Liberia, Nigeria, Palestine, Somalia, Swaziland, Syria, and Zimbabwe. These nationals must have their visa arrange before traveling to Nepal.

For the Visa on Arrival, you need to have a valid passport with at least six month’s validity remaining at the time of travel, plus at least one blank visa page. You will also need to have the fee in US dollars (Tribhuvan International Airport is the only entry point that allows other foreign currency payments), a completed application form, and one passport-sized photo. Processing normally takes around an hour, though it can often be less than that if the immigration desk is not busy.

For the citizens of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, all visa fees are waived, irrelevant of the type of Visa. Free tourist visas are also available for citizens of China, Hong Kong SAR, and Macau.

For Indian Passport Holders

Indian passport holder, as well as all Indian citizens with a government-issued ID, can travel into and out of Nepal without hindrance or the need for a visa. Thanks to the 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Indian citizens and Indian passport holders residing in other countries have a freedom of movement between Nepal and India, and can freely reside on Nepal without any requirement for a visa or residency application.

The permissible identification documents required to partake of this freedom of movement are:

① Valid Indian Passport (with a validity period of at least one month remaining)
② Indian Voter ID card (photograph type only)
③ A Registration Certificate issued by the Indian Embassy in Nepal for the Indian citizen currently resident in Nepal
④ An ad hoc or temporary identity card issued by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu due to loss of ID or Passport in the event of an emergency

Visa for Visiting India

All visitors to India, with the exception of Nepali citizens with valid government issued ID cards or passports and Bhutanese nationals, must obtain a visa prior to entering India. Citizens of Nepal and Bhutan have a freedom of movement with India that allows them to travel freely across the borders into and out of India.

A visa should be obtained for foreigners before entering India.

Citizens of Pakistan are required to get a visa before entering India from the Indian Embassy in Pakistan, and also require government approval for the visa. A pre-approved visa is also required for the citizens of a large number of African nations, as well as Egypt, and several Middle Eastern countries. In Europe, only Poland and Turkey are required to have a pre-approved visa for entry into India.

An E-visa is available for everyone else in the world, which can be applied for online at least four calendar days in advance of the expected date of arrival in India. The E-visa is not available for use at every entry point into India, and the allowed ports of entry are listed on the E-visa form that you download and save as a PDF file to print for showing at the airports.

If you are still confused about how to get all the required travel documents for your Tibet Nepal India tour, please feel free to ask a quick question online. Our travel expert will contact you and give you reply within 24 hours.