Permits and visa for Sikkim

Foreigners need Inner Line Permit to enter to Sikkim. You don’t have to pay money for Inner Line Permit. You need two photos and the valid Passport photocopies along with your visa details to apply for Inner Line Permit. These Permits are issued on the land borders of Sikkim- Rangpoo Check Post or at the Melli Police Check Post on arrival.

Inner Line Permit can be obtained at Indian Embassies abroad when getting your visa. Foreigners are expected to have Inner Line Permit either on their visa itself that reads “Permitted to enter (East Sikkim, West Sikkim) areas of Sikkim or alternately they can have these stamped on the border check posts. They can easily get within few minutes.

Permits can be obtained and issued from all Indian Missions,Tourism Office located at New Delhi, Sikkim Tourism Office, Calcutta, and Siliguri  on the strength of an Indian Visa.

At the beginning, the Permit is being issued for 15 days. It can be extended for further 30 days of 15 days each. The permit is extended from Foreigners Registration Office (FRO), Gangtok and Superintendent of Police of North, South and West Districts. The FRO is located at Kazi Road, Gangtok.

Those foreigners who are interested in going for trekking in the interior parts of the state, you require a Restricted Area Permit (RAP) or Protected Area Permit (PAP) from the Police Check Post and Department of Tourism at Gangtok. These Permits are available in certain specified area for the groups consisting of 4 or more foreigners
Note: This Permit is issued to Local Government Registered Travel Agents only.You are requested not to forget to get your passport stamped at all the check posts while travelling in Sikkim. Once you leave Sikkim, you must wait for three months before applying for another permit.

How to get Sikkim from Kathmandu?
From Kathmandu, it is one hour flight to Bhadrapur in the east Nepal, then drive to Kakarbhitta. It is 35 km far from Bhadrapur to Kakarbhitta(Nepal – India Border). It is still 37 km from Kakarbhitta to Siliguri and 110 km to Gangtok, takes 4 hours. You can fly to Biratnagar, also in the east Nepal.

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