“Tibet visa” never exists diplomatically as Tibet is merely one province of P. R. China, so “Tibet visa” is actually wrong diplomatically. When travelers search for the information concerning the Tibet visa, mostly they end in finding something about Chinese visa, especially a kind of Chinese Group Visa normally issued at Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu. No other visa except this group visa issued in Kathmandu enables tourist to enter Tibet when they plan to travel into Tibet from Nepal.
How can tourists obtain this special Tibet visa (Chinese Group Visa) from Kathmandu, Nepal? How much does the Tibet visa cost? How many days it takes to obtain? What is the relationship between this visa and Tibet permit? Is there any special restriction and policy over this visa? We will answer all the questions here below.
Picture of Chinese Group Visa Issued in Kathmandu
To obtain this Tibet visa (Chinese Group Visa), you have to firstly send us the scan or photo copy of your passport by email at least 2 weeks ahead of the tour, we will use this passport copy to get a visa invitation letter for you from local government in Tibet, this takes 5 working days. After securing this invitation letter, we will immediately send it by email to our authorized visa partner in Kathmandu, with whom you have to meet to give your original passport and sign the visa application letter; you cannot go to the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu to apply by yourself whereas this must be totally done by an authorized visa agent there. The visa cost depends on your nationality and how urgent you need it; the price varies from USD 50 to USD 175 p/p plus an agent service fee at USD 20 p/p. For each particular detail about procedures and cost, you can refer to Chinese visa from Nepal.
Then, what is the relationship between “Tibet visa” (Chinese Group Visa) and Tibet permit? When people need a visa, it means they need to get into a foreign country. So the “Tibet Visa”, actually Chinese Visa, is something allows you to enter China. To enter Tibet, one province in China, you have to also apply for another Tibet (travel) permit. Tibet is not the only place in China or in the world that requires a permit to access, so there is nothing to make fuss about this situation. And you will see that “Tibet visa” does not mean Tibet permit at all, they are two totally different things. When you get the “Tibet visa” (Chinese Group Visa) in Kathmandu, at the same time, your Tibet permit has also been issued by us in Lhasa. After your flight from Kathmandu landing in Lhasa and after you crossing the Chinese Immigration with your Chinese Group Visa, our guide will pick you up with the Tibet Permit at the Customs. While if you enter Tibet by overland from Gyirong Port, our guide will pick you up at the border, in the same way, in which “Tibet permit” greets “Tibet visa”.
Different from regular stamped visa in your passport, “Tibet visa” (Chinese Group Visa) issued in Kathmandu is a separate A4 size paper with applicants’ details as well as Chinese Embassy’s official seal with signature of Consul. It is normally valid from 15 days to 30 days, as it is actually a Chinese visa, so this visa covers all parts of China including Tibet. Suppose you have a 30 days visa, if you stay 10 days in Tibet, you will only have 20 days left for China proper. Note that this kind of special visa cannot be extended while in China (including Tibet).