Places in India Foreigners Can't Visit (Or Need Special Permits For): The Complete 2026 List
By BUGLE | July 2026 | Last updated: July 2026
The short answer: India has three separate legal categories restricting where foreigners (and sometimes Indians) can go: Protected Areas (mainly the Northeast border states), Restricted Areas (the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and parts of Sikkim), and Prohibited Areas (military zones and a small number of places that are simply off-limits to everyone, permit or not). This is the complete list, state by state and island by island, with what's actually needed for each.
What's in this guide
The three-tier system, explained · Protected Areas (PAP) — full list · Restricted Areas (RAP) — full list, including the Andaman islands that got de-notified · Truly prohibited places — where no permit exists at all · Tribal reserves — a separate, stricter category · Nationality-based extra restrictions · Quick reference table
The three-tier system
Protected Areas — governed by the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958. These are zones between India's "Inner Line" and its international border, mostly in the Northeast. Foreigners need a Protected Area Permit (PAP); Indian citizens from other states need the lighter-weight Inner Line Permit (ILP) instead. (Full application walkthrough in our PAP guide.)
Restricted Areas — governed by the Foreigners (Restricted Areas) Order, 1963. Currently the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and parts of Sikkim. Foreigners need a Restricted Area Permit (RAP) — generally easier to obtain than a PAP, sometimes available on arrival. Indians need no such permit for these areas (beyond the Sikkim-specific rules noted below).
Prohibited Areas — a separate, older legal category (linked to the Official Secrets Act and tribal-protection law) where no permit exists for tourism at all, for anyone. Military installations and a handful of tribal reserves fall here — these are not "hard to visit," they are legally closed.
Protected Areas: the full list (foreigners need PAP)
- Arunachal Pradesh — entire state.
- Manipur — entire state (permit requirement reimposed December 2024).
- Mizoram — entire state (permit requirement reimposed December 2024).
- Nagaland — entire state (permit requirement reimposed December 2024).
- Sikkim — most of the state; partly Protected, partly Restricted (see below).
- Parts of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand — border-belt districts, rarely relevant to typical tourist itineraries.
- Parts of Jammu & Kashmir / Ladakh — specific border zones beyond the areas already open to general tourism.
- Meghalaya — flagged, not confirmed: we found at least one official listing that includes Meghalaya in this category, contradicting years of unrestricted tourist practice there. We could not resolve this conflict with confidence — if your trip is Meghalaya-specific as a foreign national, confirm directly with an Indian mission before finalizing plans, though in practice we found no evidence of enforcement.
Restricted Areas: the Andaman & Nicobar picture
This is the most-improved part of the whole system, and worth understanding precisely because most articles still describe the pre-2018 rules.
- Since 2018, most inhabited islands need no RAP for foreigners — including the popular ones: Port Blair, Havelock (Swaraj Dweep), Neil (Shaheed Dweep), Baratang, Diglipur, Long Island, and roughly 30 islands in total on the de-notified list. For most travelers doing the standard Andaman circuit, no restricted-area permit is needed at all — just your ordinary Indian visa.
- Citizens of Afghanistan, China, and Pakistan (and foreign nationals of that origin) are excluded from the de-notification and still need a RAP regardless of which island.
- A handful of islands remain day-visit-only even for the general permit-free list (Ross Island, Interview Island, Narcondum, Barren Island — the latter has India's only active volcano and can only be viewed from a boat, no landing).
- Tribal Reserves are excluded entirely from the general relaxation — see the dedicated section below.
- The rest of the Nicobar Islands (beyond Campbell Bay in Great Nicobar, which is open) remain closed to tourism for anyone without a Tribal Pass, a permit not issued for tourism purposes.
- Sikkim's restricted zones — Nathu La, Tsomgo Lake, North Sikkim (Gurudongmar Lake) — need a permit arranged through a registered operator, for both the border-security reason (proximity to China) and, in places, high-altitude access control.
Truly prohibited: where no permit exists, for anyone
This is the category most travel content glosses over, and it matters most for one specific, globally famous place:
- North Sentinel Island — home to the Sentinelese, one of the world's last uncontacted peoples. This is not merely "restricted" or "permit-required" — landing on or approaching the island is prohibited by Indian law for everyone, tourist, researcher, or citizen, under protections separate from the general RAP system, with serious criminal penalties for violation. (An American national was killed attempting an illegal, unauthorized visit in 2018 — a case that remains the starkest illustration of why this prohibition exists and is enforced.) No permit application route exists for tourism here, full stop — treat any tour operator or agency claiming otherwise as, at minimum, seriously misinformed.
- Andaman & Nicobar Tribal Reserves generally — beyond North Sentinel, reserves protecting the Jarawa and other indigenous groups are closed to tourism; a Tribal Pass exists only for researchers, officials, or those specifically invited by the community, and is not obtainable for sightseeing. (Driving the Andaman Trunk Road through Jarawa Reserve territory to reach other destinations is permitted under strict convoy rules — a different situation from entering the reserve itself, and worth knowing if your Andaman itinerary includes that road.)
- Defence and military installations nationwide — prohibited under the Official Secrets Act framework regardless of location or permit status.
Nationality adds another layer, everywhere
Across nearly every category above, citizens of Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan face a stricter standard — prior Ministry of Home Affairs approval, not just the standard permit, and exclusion from relaxations that apply to other nationalities (like the Andaman de-notification). If you hold a passport from one of these countries, budget significantly more time and expect a materially different process than the guidance above assumes.
Quick reference table
| Place | Foreigners need | Indians need |
|---|---|---|
| Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland | PAP | ILP |
| Assam, Meghalaya*, Tripura | None (*Meghalaya unconfirmed — see above) | None |
| Sikkim (general) | PAP/RAP for specific zones | None generally; permits for high zones |
| Andaman & Nicobar (main islands) | None since 2018 (most nationalities) | None |
| Andaman & Nicobar (excluded nationalities: Pakistan, China, Afghanistan) | RAP required | None |
| Nicobar Islands (beyond Campbell Bay) | Not available for tourism | Not available for tourism |
| North Sentinel Island | Prohibited — no permit exists | Prohibited — no permit exists |
| Tribal Reserves (Andaman & elsewhere) | Prohibited for tourism | Prohibited for tourism |
The 60-second version
Three tiers: Protected Areas need a PAP (foreigners) or ILP (Indians) — the entire Northeast border states except, per most sources, Meghalaya, Assam, and Tripura. Restricted Areas need a RAP — but most of the Andaman Islands stopped requiring one for most nationalities back in 2018, a fact a lot of the internet hasn't caught up on. And a small set of places — chiefly North Sentinel Island and tribal reserves — are simply prohibited, with no permit route at all, for anyone. Know which category your destination falls into before you plan around it; conflating "need a permit" with "need to ask permission from a tour operator who says it's fine" is exactly how people end up somewhere they legally shouldn't be.
This guide is general travel information verified against official Indian government sources and consular guidance as of July 2026 — not legal advice. Permit regimes, especially for the Northeast states, have changed direction multiple times in recent years; confirm current, destination-specific requirements with the e-FRRO portal or an Indian mission before finalizing travel.
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