What is Tibet Travel Permit (外国人入藏函)
Tibet Travel Permit, or Tibet Entry Permit, is foremost and compulsory for foreign passport holders to enter Tibet. Issued by Tibet Tourism Bureau, it is also called TTB permit. Without the permit, you can’t board a flight or train to Tibet or cross overland from Nepal, also will not be able to get other permits to continue to travel Tibet further.
Tibet Travel Permit (sample)
Due to Tibet's political situation, it is not so easy to travel Tibet as other cities in Chinese provinces. Foreign travelers are required to apply for special Tibet permits as well as a China visa. But Tibet Yout Travel will help you get permits!
Read on to learn how to apply for Tibet permits successfully.
Who Needs a Tibet Entry Permit
1. All foreign citizens (non-Chinese passport holders) need a Tibet Entry Permit to enter Tibet. Chinese people living overseas need to apply for the permit if holding a non-Chinese passport.
2. Taiwan residents also need to apply for a Tibet Entry Permit.
3. Hong Kong and Macau residents don't need a Tibet Entry Permit, but Chinese SAR passports and Home Return Permits (or Mainland Travel Permits) are needed.
How to Get a Tibet Entry Permit
Foreigners are not allowed to apply for Tibet permits independently. You have to find a China-based travel agency, like Tibet Yout Travel, to help you do it. What's more, foreign citizens are not allowed to travel in Tibet independently. You have to be accompanied by a tour guide.
The first requirement for a Tibet Travel Permit is a China visa.
To apply for a Tibet Entry Permit, all you need to do is:
Find an approved Chinese travel agency to help arrange your Tibet tour (your tour itinerary must be shown on the permit).
Send your passport and China visa copies to your travel agency, and they will help apply for Tibet entry.
Applications are almost always successfully if you:
Send your passport and China visa copies at least 7 working days before departure to Tibet if you enter Tibet by train. The earlier the better.
If you are taking flights to Tibet, you are suggested to send passport and China visa copies at least 15 days before departure. Because original permits must be check when boarding, so extra time is needed for mail delivery.
Your occupation on the permit shouldn't be diplomat, journalist, or government official. Otherwise, you have to apply for entry through the Tibet Foreign Affairs Office.
And you can only enter Tibet from the departure city as listed on your itinerary. For example, if your departure city is Beijing, you can only use the permit at Beijing airport, not other cities' airports. If you want to change your departure city, please do inform your travel agency at advance, so that we can help you apply for another permit.
How to Use Your Tibet Entry Permit — When It's Checked
A Tibet Entry Permit is required to visit the Potala Palace and other attractions in Tibet.
Your travel agency help you apply for the permits and send it to you before your departure.
Tibet Entry Permit Will Be Checked at Train Stations/Airports
A copy of your Tibet Entry Permit will be checked at your departure train station. And you are suggested to print at least 2 copies.
Your original permit will be checked at your departure airport (Nepal only requires copy).
In Tibet, your Entry Permit could be checked at any time, but typically it is when you check in at your hotel and when you enter Lhasa.
You are suggested to give permits to your Tibet tour guide for safe keeping.
Tour with Tibet Youth Travel, We Will Send You Your Permit Before Departure for Tibet.
Entering Tibet by air:
Our customers receive their original Tibet Entry Permits from one of our booking hotel or your friends in the city where they depart from for depart for Tibet, e.g. Chengdu, if traveling by air.
Entering Tibet by train:
We will send you a scanned copy of your Tibet Entry Permit by e-mail if you enter Tibet by railway. You will need to print it out. Your official Tibet Entry Permit will be held by your guide in Lhasa.
Latest Update: March 13, 2026 - Effective from March 13, foreign tourists entering Tibet—whether by train or air—must present the original physical copy of their Tibet Travel Permit for verification. In previous years, a photocopy was sufficient for train entry from most mainland Chinese cities. (It is speculated that this adjustment is due to the anticipated surge in foreign arrivals for the Year of the Horse pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, prompting stricter security screening measures.)
Entering Tibet from China — Detailed Requirements
Your travel agency will help you apply for the permits with your passport and China visa.
All foreign individuals entering Tibet must hold a passport valid for at least six months.
Additional Requirements for F Visa and Z Visa Customers:
If you are an F (business) or Z (work) visa holder, you are required to provide additional information to get a Tibet Entry Permit. Your travel agency will send you the requirements after you book the tour.
1. If you are working in China on a Z visa, these are required:
A current Residence Permit (居留许可证, like a visa in your passport),
Certification in Chinese from your company/school in China (工作证明, using your company's letter paper, with your name and passport number, and company seal on it).
2. If you are invited to China on an F visa (for business, research, lecturing; scientific, technological, or culture exchange; short-term advanced studies, or intern practice for a period of no more than six months), you need:
Certification from your Tibetan travel agency
Entering Tibet from Nepal — Group Visas Needed
Entering Tibet from Nepal requires a "group visa" (at least 3 people in a group) valid for Tibet from the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu. It normally takes two weeks to obtain it.
First, you will still need to find an approved Tibetan travel agency, like Tibet Youth Travel, to help you apply for a Tibet permit.
After you receive an invitation letter and Tibet itinerary from your Tibetan Travel agency, a Nepal travel agency, e.g. our partner in Kathmandu, will help you apply for your Tibet Group Visa.
Good news! The overland border crossing between Tibet and Nepal has reopened!
After over 2 years of being closed, since the 2015 earthquake, the overland route between Tibet and Nepal has reopened to travelers. You can travel from Lhasa to Kathmandu via road now!
Tibet Youth Travel Help You Get a Tibet Entry Permit
We can help you with your Tibet tour arrangements in good time and meet the above requirements, and also help get the permits. Currently we have helped our customers obtain Tibet Entry Permits with success rate of 100%. But we don't provide a separate visa/permit application service.
Extra Tibet Permits Are Needed If You Travel Outside Lhasa
An Aliens' Travel Permit is required to visit Mt. Everest and most attractions outside Lhasa.
If your Tibet tour only contains Lhasa city's attractions (The Potala Palace, Sera Monastery, Jokhang Temple, etc.), you only need to apply for a Tibet Entry Permit. But if you want to travel outside Lhasa, you may need extra Tibet permits.
Don't worry, your travel agency, and your tour guide will tell you what to do and help you with it. Read on to see what kind of permits you will need to go to various Tibet destinations:
Places Requiring Tibet Entry Permits and Aliens' Travel Permits
Shigatse: Sakya Monastery, Mt. Everest, Rongbuk Monastery
Gyangtse: Pelkor Chode Monastery, Kubum Stupa
Tsetang: Samye Monastery, Tomb of Tibetan King, Trandruk Temple, Yumbulakhang
Nyingchi Region: Basum-tso, Pomi, Rawo-tso
An Alien's Travel Permit can only be applied for after you enter Tibet. Your tour guide will help you apply for it using your passport and Tibet Entry Permit.
Places Requiring Tibet Entry Permit + Aliens' Travel Permit + Military Permit
Ngari Region: Mt. Kailash, Lake Manasarovar, Tsaparang, Ali
Your travel agency will help you to get a Military Permit from the Military Office in Lhasa before you enter Tibet. Then your tour guide can take this certification and Tibet Entry Permit to apply for an Aliens' Travel Permit in Tibet.
You need to start applying for your Tibet permits at least one month before departure for Tibet if you want to visit places requiring a Military Permit.
Plan Your Tibet Tour as Early as Possible
Always remember to plan your Tibet tour as early as possible, because there is much work for your travel agency to do after you send the required documents.
Don't trouble yourself about the complicated-looking Tibet permits procedures: we will guide you and help youthrough all of the application and Tibet travel process.
Latest News about Tibet Entry Permit
Tibet Travel Permits for foreign nationals are now being processed as normal in March, allowing entry into Tibet and travel within the region (in previous years, March was designated a "special month" during which permit applications were not approved).
There is no exact restriction as it used to be(only a group of 5-6 people with the same nationality available). Even if you want to travel Tibet alone, we can also apply a permit for you. But notice, the more members in your group, the more chances to get Tibet Travel Permit, which will also save a lot money for your Tibet tour, as well as meeting new friends.
Contrary to popular belief, a tangible Tibet Travel Permit aka Tibet Tourism Bureau (T.T.B.) permit does exist and there are no plans of eliminating this permit in the near future. A permit is required to enter Tibet. The TTB costs vary depending on your departure city, and there is no expiration date for the permit. You do not need a permit to leave Tibet, however you will need an additional transit permit to enter certain cities within Tibet as well as Mt. Everest Base camp (60 Yuan per person, 405 Yuan per vehicle), which can be easily arranged by your tour operator. You do need a China Visa as well as a passport that is valid for at least 6 months before applying for the TTB.
Tibet Youth Travel (Cytstibet.com) is a local tour operator in Tibet, to help travelers obtain Tibet travel permit. The agency also offers EXTRA VALUE tour packages.
Everyone can get a 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.
Tibet Youth Travel is specializing in organizing Tibet tours for foreigners, Tibet train tour in particular, and can help you to obtain Tibet entry permit and other travel permits.
Let us apply permit for you
E-mail：cytstibet@gmail.com
Wechat: 86 139 8909 9222
WhatsApp：+86-139 8998 8995
