Travel to Tibet from Nepal

Travel to Tibet from Nepal with Group Visa

As we know, foreigners from most of countries need a Chinese visa to visit Tibet. But if you travel to Tibet from Kathmandu, the visa procedures would be a bit different. It is a special visa (Group Visa) required to board the flight or pass the Nepal-Tibet border.

All foreign travelers (Nepalese included) have to apply for the Chinese Group Visa in Kathmandu, Nepal, and usually all the procedures being processed through an agency. So, please make sure to keep in touch with them before you arrive in Kathmandu, and make sure they can get your original passport in time.

Another situation is if you already have the valid Chinese visa and Tibet Travel/Entry Permit, thus you are only allowed to travel to Tibet from mainland China. The original Chinese Visa will NOT be admitted and allowed to go to Tibet from Nepal at the customs office.

Steps to get the Group Visa

We will first get the Chinese visa invitation letter in Lhasa while we apply your Tibet permit, and the visa invitation letter will be sent to our partner in Kathmandu (a cooperated local travel agency), then they will help you with your China visa application.

For the Chinese visa invitation letter, you do not need to worry about that, we will take care of all the procedures, and before you give your passport to our partner in Kathmandu, they would already have your Chinese visa invitation letter already.

Your personal information and usually the days allowed to stay in Tibet will be listed on the letter. Blow is how a visa invitation letter looks like:

For getting your Group Visa, besides of the Chinese visa invitation letter, our partner in Kathmandu also need your original passport and 2 passport sized photos. Normally, the Group Visa application would take at least 3 work days, and unlike other visas stick on your passport, the Group Visa is an A4 paper. 

Just for your reference, please kindly check how the Group Visa looks like:

Chinese Group Visa Application Fee

Note:

1. Group Visa is single-entry visa for traveling to Tibet and other cities in mainland China.
2. Group Visa fee charged by Chinese Embassy varies by different nationalities and processing time.
3. There’s 25 USD / person service charge fee from the visa agent in Kathmandu who will apply the Group Visa.
4. The latest visa fees above are only provided for reference, subject to actual charges. You can contact us to catch the latest information.

Information of Embassy of PRC in Nepal

Address: Baluwatar, Kathmandu, Nepal
Ambassador Tel: 00977-1-4419389
Fax: 00977-1-4414045
Tel (daytime): 00977-1-4411740
E-mail: chinaemb_np@mfa.gov.cn
International Call Code: 00977-1
Working Hours: 09:00-12:00, 14:00-17:00, Monday-Friday (except holidays)
Official Website: http://np.china-embassy.org/eng/