Reviewed August 2026
Permits, explained
Four of the eight North East states need a permit before you arrive. It is the single most common reason a trip here quietly becomes a trip somewhere else.
Indian travellers need an Inner Line Permit. Foreign nationals need a Protected Area Permit. Assam and Meghalaya need neither. That is ninety per cent of it.
State by state
Who needs what, where.
| State | Indian nationals | Foreign nationals | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arunachal Pradesh | ILP required | PAP required | Every visitor, every time. This is the one that turns people back at Bhalukpong. |
| Nagaland | ILP required | PAP required | PAP for foreign nationals was reimposed in December 2024 after a period without it - older guides online still say otherwise. |
| Mizoram | ILP required | PAP required | Same December 2024 change as Nagaland. Police registration on arrival also applies. |
| Manipur | ILP required | PAP required | ILP introduced here in 2019, and currently the subject of litigation - worth confirming close to travel. |
| Assam | Not required | Not required | Travel freely. Guwahati, Kaziranga, Majuli, Sivasagar - no permit at all. |
| Meghalaya | Not required | Not required | Shillong, Sohra, the root bridges, Dawki - all open. Foreign nationals may be asked to register locally. |
Sikkim also requires permits for certain protected areas, and Bhutan has its own entirely separate entry regime. Citizens of Pakistan, China and Afghanistan face additional restrictions across the region.
Indian nationals
The Inner Line Permit
The ILP is a colonial instrument that outlived the empire - it comes from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation of 1873 and is still in force. It is not a visa and it is not difficult; it is simply a document you must have before you cross the line, and it is checked.
Arunachal now issues it online through the state portal, and a tourist permit is typically valid for a stated number of days against named districts. The government fee is nominal - a few hundred rupees - and it changes, so we quote it at actuals rather than publishing a figure that will go stale.
You carry a printed copy and the ID you applied with. Checkposts keep a register. Bhalukpong, on the road up from Assam, is where most Arunachal trips are stopped.
Foreign nationals
The Protected Area Permit
Foreign passport holders need a PAP rather than an ILP, and it works differently: it is arranged in advance through the relevant authorities, not bought on arrival, and for some areas it is issued only to groups rather than individuals.
The important recent change: the PAP was reimposed for Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur in December 2024, after a period when foreign visitors did not need one. A great deal of advice still online predates that and is now wrong.
Separately, foreign nationals are generally expected to complete a police registration shortly after arriving in those states - usually handled by the guesthouse or by us.
From experience
Five ways this goes wrong.
01
The route does not match the permit
An ILP is issued against the districts you named. Turn up at a checkpost heading somewhere that is not on it and you are going back, however valid the permit looks. This is the most common failure by a wide margin.
02
The name does not match the ID
A middle name on the permit and not on the Aadhaar, an initial expanded, a spelling drifted. Checkpost staff compare them character by character, and they are right to.
03
Leaving it to the last week
Applications are usually processed in a day or two, but 'usually' is doing work in that sentence. Around long weekends and festivals the queue lengthens and there is no expediting it.
04
Assuming one permit covers everything
Bumla Pass and Sangestar (Madhuri) Lake need additional army clearance arranged in Tawang itself, on top of your ILP - and they are run by local union vehicles, not your own car.
05
Trusting a page like this one
Including ours. Permit rules in the North East change with little notice, and a guide written eighteen months ago will confidently tell you something that is no longer true. Confirm close to travel.
What we handle
We do this every week.
Permits are the reason a lot of North East itineraries quietly become Meghalaya itineraries. Handled properly they are administration, not an obstacle.
- The right permit for your actual route, not a generic one
- Names and documents checked against IDs before submission
- Timed so it is in hand before you fly, not while you travel
- Army clearances for Bumla and Sangestar arranged in Tawang
- Police registration for foreign nationals where it applies
- Available as a standalone service, and to agents sending us clients
Tailored for you
Tell us your route and we will tell you what you need
Permit rules move, and the answer depends on where you are actually going and which passport you hold. Send us the outline and we will come back with exactly what is required - and arrange it if you want us to.