Eye on tourism boost in Northeast, govt to ease terms of special permits for foreigners

In a move that will significantly boost tourism in Northeast, the Centre is planning to ease special permits required by foreign travellers.

The tourism ministry officials have spoken to their counterparts in the home ministry, who in turn have assured them of coordinating with state officials to identify areas where the restrictions could be relaxed up to five years.

At present, to enter Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Sikkim, foreigners need a protected area permit (PAP), applications for which need to be made at the Foreigner’s Regional Registration Office in India and cost $50.

Earlier, foreigners were not allowed to stay in Arunachal Pradesh for more than 30 days. At the request of the tourism ministry, PAPs were eased in 2016 for travellers for a period of two years instead of 30 days.

In 2013, Restricted Area Permits (RAPs) in Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland were eased till December, 2017. But travellers still need to register themselves at the local Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) of the districts they land in, within 24 hours of arrival. RAPs are still required in certain parts of Sikkim among the Northeastern states.

The tourism ministry has now asked for the restrictions to be eased for a period of five years instead. The request also came up in the seventh meeting of the An Inter-Ministerial Coordination Committee on Tourism Sector (IMCCTS). Home ministry officials said that following a discussion, they ministry will instructions to relax RAPs and PAPs in the Northeastern states for five years at a stretch, but the norms will be withdrawn at any time in case of a security concern.