Passport and Chinese Visa
Foreign tourists are usually required to have a valid passport, Chinese visa and necessary Tibet travel permits for entering and travelling in Tibet.
Passport
The passport you hold shall be valid for six months at least.
China Visa
1. Entering Tibet from Mainland China
In most cases, you can get the Chinese Visa for individual travel easily from the local China Embassy / Consulate
at your place within one or two week(s). A tourist visa ("L" Visa) will be issued for sightseeing
and visiting relatives in China. It is for a short duration of stay, usually 30 days, and can't be extended upon expiration.
But you may get a 90-day visa in HongKong which many local agencies can help arrange in one day.
There is another kind of tourist visa - Group Visa which is not issued on passports but on a separate paper for the group. It requires the group members to enter and exit China all together.
Tips:
1. It is advised not to mention Tibet in your Chinese Visa application for easier and faster procedure;
2. If you are planning to join in part of a group journey and leave in the middle,
you are strongly recommended to inform the travel agency that operates the tour for the group prior to arrival.
2. Entering Tibet from Nepal
For entering Tibet from Nepal, you shall get a Group Visa from the China Embassy in Kathmandu,
no matter if you've already got one individual Chinese Vsa in your country or not. You can just leave it to the travel agency that
operates the Tibet tour for you as it is necessary to get some official documents from local government departments in Lhasa.
This group visa is usually valid for the length of your tour in Tibet and hard to be extended.
Tips:
1. It is advised not to apply for the Chinese Visa in your country if you'll enter Tibet from Nepal;
2. When planning such a tour, please leave enough time in Kathmandu for the Chinese Visa application there;
3. If you have tours in Nepal, Tibet and China, you are strongly recommended to arrange China first and then Tibet and Nepal if possible.
More Relevant Information:
Tibet Permits and How to get it
How to get the China Visa for travelling Tibet from Nepal and How much does the Tibet permit cost