China makes it difficult to obtain a Tibet tourist visa for foreign visitors in Nepal

China has set stricter visa rules and conditions for foreign tourists who want to visit Tibet via neighboring Nepal, according to two travel agencies operating in the Nepalese capital.

The Chinese government routinely blocks access to Tibet for foreign journalists, NGO workers, diplomats, and foreign citizens of Tibetan descent. International tourists are required to obtain a Tibet Entry Permit to enter Tibet, although obtaining one is not usually a requirement. complex process.

Many foreign visitors obtain travel permits in Nepal, a common starting point for those planning to visit Tibet.

Those who want to enter Tibet from Nepal must form a group before obtaining a Chinese group visa issued by the Chinese embassy in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu. When they have the group visa, they can obtain the Tibet Travel Permit issued by the Tibet Tourism Bureau to travel according to the pre-arranged itinerary.

Under the new procedures, foreign tourists planning to enter Tibet from Nepal must arrive in Nepal a week before completing a visa application, and visas will be granted only to groups with a minimum of four people, travel agencies said. Another report on the new procedures by the Tibetan Review, an independent monthly publication, said a minimum of five people was necessary.

Visa applicants must go in person to the Chinese Embassy of Nepal in Kathmandu for interviews and provide fingerprints, they said. Chinese group visas for approved tourists are issued after five days after the background check.

Foreigners who already have a visa to travel to different cities in China must now apply for a special visa to enter Tibet, they said.

Individual tourists are required to provide more detailed personal information, such as the schools they attended, and specify the places they intend to visit in Tibet, according to Thamel Tours and Travels, a Kathmandu-based travel agency.

Another travel agency in Kathmandu told Radio Free Asia that only one foreign applicant who applied for a visa through the agency was turned down under the new procedures.

Previously, foreign tourists did not have to appear in person at the Chinese Embassy in Nepal to obtain a visa to enter Tibet, and travel agencies arranged for group visas that were issued within two days of application. The issued visas could cover only one foreign traveler going to Tibet, because the applicants on the list were not individually verified, the Tibetan Review said.

Chinese authorities reopened the Tibet Autonomous Region to foreign visitors this April, after the region was closed for three years amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On January 8, officials lifted border restrictions imposed during the outbreak in early 2020.

On March 31, China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a statement urging Chinese tour operators to comply with the new rules and strictly supervise tourism activities through group supervision to boost the country’s tourism industry after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Translated by FRG Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Matt Reed.