Passports & Visa
All individuals entering Tibet must hold a passport valid for at least six months. If you are entering Tibet from China, your Chinese visa must be valid. Only travelers with tourist visas (not business, resident or student visas) are permitted. It is irresponsible to travel in Tibet without a valid entry visa, because it could endanger Tibetans with whom you have associated. Walking across a border is particularly dangerous and unjustifiable, since you may be assumed to be a spy if you are found without a stamped entry visa. This may not affect the way you are treated, but could have very serious implications for any Tibetan whom you are seen to have met or spoken with.

Entering Tibet from Nepal, either by friendship highway or by air requires a separate visa valid for Tibet from the Chinese embassy in Katmandu (30-60 days) visas are the normal and it normally takes 1weeks. And also there is a provision of 3 days and same day visa collection procedure but the visa fee and other charges would vary.

How to apply for a Tibet Entry Permit?
Tibet Entry Permit is not available by independent travelers at the moment (at least before the Olympics). Travelers have to travel in tour group and ask their travel agent to apply it for you. Please prepare the following documents before asking your travel agent to apply permit.
1) full name;
2) gender;
3) date of birth;
4) passport number;
5) nationality

- all exactly the same as on your passport. And you need to tell us your occupation because journalists and people that could be involved in political matters could be revoked (they need more complicated procedure to get a permit).

And if you are traveling Tibet from any other countries besides Nepal, you have to apply for the travel permit at least 10 days prior to your entry date.

a copy of your Passport;
a copy of your China visa (tourist visa);
Full names, gender, Date of Birth, Passport number, nationality, occupation;

Tibet Visa and their Types

There are two kinds of permits (Tibet visa) for traveling in Tibet: the entry permit (TTB permit) and the Alien's travel permit (PSB permit). We can assist you in getting those Visa.

a) TTB Permit - Tibet Entry Permit (Tibet visa)

When you fly from any city to Lhasa you will need to show this permit when you check in at the airport. Furthermore, whenever you buy a flight to Lhasa you need to show this permit. TTB permits are also needed by groups traveling by Land Cruiser but this will be arranged by the travel agency organizing the trip.

b) Travel Permit - Aliens' Travel Permit.
In 1993 an increasing number of individual travellers were fined for arriving without an ATP in well-known but technically closed places like Kailash or Samye. At that time these routine fines were small - they were then really just fees for a permit - and usually the traveller could stay for a while in the area once these fines had been paid. Since 1996 the fines have become much larger, so it may be advisable to get a permit from the nearest open town before traveling to one of these places. Much larger fees appear to be charged on mountaineering routes used by groups in vehicles, notably at Rongbuk checkpoint leading to Everest base camp.

In 1997 the Tibet authorities produced a new regulation, which required all travellers leaving Tibet by air from Gongkar airport (Lhasa) to hand back their ATPs at the airport. Most travellers do not have an ATP (they are often retained by a tour group guide or were never needed), and so could not hand them back. These travellers were fined US $10 for not handing back their ATPs.

For certain areas an ATP may not be sufficient - other permits from the Tibet Tourism Bureau or the army may be needed as well, especially in border areas, the east and west TAR, Ngaba (Aba) prefecture and parts of Nyingtri prefecture. Travellers are usually required to hire a guide for these areas. Permits for military areas may only be obtained by a travel agent. These are classified as secret documents, and not usually shown to the foreigner.

Therefore seriously not any legitimate travel agency could sell you the Tibet permit if you do not book a tour with them. We don't think you would like to be in trouble due to a "sold" Tibet permit after you pay a lot of money for the tour. It is issued by Foreign Affairs Section of the Local Public Security Bureau (PSB). If you want to go further to the "unopened" areas, you need an Alien's travel permit issued by PSB of Tibet. It is called "Alien's Travel Permit" or "PSB permit".

The Law on the Control of Entry and Exit of Foreigners (Order of the President of the People's Republic of China (No.31), 22.11.1985, Chapter 4), says:

Article 20: Foreigners who hold valid visas or residence certificates may travel to places declared open to foreigners by the Chinese Government.
 

Article 21: Foreigners who desire to travel to places closed to foreigners shall apply for travel permits from local public security organs [i.e., the police].
 

How to apply for Alien Travel Permit?
We will assist you in applying for it after you enter Tibet. Our guide will ask you for your passport and the Tibet Entry Permit and submit it to the Foreign Affairs Section of PSB. Local police also may give special permits to individuals wishing to travel to closed areas. However they usually only offer ATPs to groups who have arranged a tour with a registered tour operator. Permits are apparently quite easily obtained for well-known places such as Mount Kailash - but they may be expensive and/or must to be obtained through a travel agent.

Please note that if you do not book any tour from us, we can not help you get the permits. No travel agency can provide "permit-only" service.

Here is a note from Lonely Planet:-"Lhasa PSB will not issue travel permits to individuals and will direct you to a travel agency. Agencies can arrange a travel permit to almost anywhere but only if you book a Land Cruiser, driver and a guide."

Important Issues about Tibet Travel Permit

1. 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.

2. After having a permit, a travel agency could buy you the air tickets, and you can pass the check-in at the airport and the check point reroute with the permit.

3. Only the guide could hold the permit after you establish yourself on Tibet land. You are not allowed to bring with it and travel to anywhere you want because except Lhasa you need another permit named as "Aliens’ Permit". Otherwise if you are stopped by the police you will be sent out of Tibet or have trouble politically and economically. Furthermore, the travel agency which helped to get you the permit will also be in trouble.

Therefore seriously not any legitimate travel agency could sell you the Tibet permit if you do not book a tour with them. We don't think you would like to be in trouble due to a "sold" Tibet permit after you pay a lot of money for the tour.

4. There is a service charge (by the government) to get the Tibet permit. And it takes time, paper work, transportation fee and delivery fee for us to get a permit for you, so Moon Sun Travel will charge an extra fee for the permit.

Other documents:

Other documents are the same as you travel to other places of China - you need hold a valid passport with valid visa (issued by Chinese Embassy).

Extension of the Visa.

Prior to the introduction of new regulations in 1999 it had been possible to extend a tourist visa for a short period from within Tibet. Now it is virtually impossible to get an extension inside TAR, especially Lhasa. If at all possible, one would be required to produce proof of departure at the end of the extension, such as a flight ticket to Kathmandu. Some travellers have had more luck through travel agents in Shigatse. A tourist visa could be extended at the “Foreign Affairs Section” of the Public Security Bureau (PSB) in most major cities in China, including Chengdu, Xining and Kunming.