Lakshadweep Is Now Open to Foreign Tourists: What Changed in 2026

For years, visiting Lakshadweep as a foreign national meant clearing a stack of extra hurdles on top of the usual entry permit — a local sponsor, a police clearance certificate, and access limited mostly to Bangaram. In 2026, that changed.

What actually changed

Lakshadweep's revised Tourist Trade Guidelines, 2026, and the accompanying reforms to the entry permit process removed two of the biggest barriers for every applicant — Indian citizens, NRIs, OCI cardholders, and foreign tourists alike:

• No local sponsor required. Previously, a resident of Lakshadweep had to sponsor a visitor's application. That requirement is gone.
• No Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) required. Applicants no longer need to submit a PCC from their home police station before applying. Security verification now happens after the application is submitted, handled directly by Lakshadweep Police.

These changes are confirmed on the official entry permit portal (epermit.utl.gov.in), which now states plainly: "Sponsorship is no longer required for Tourist category applications" and "Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) is no longer required to be uploaded for Tourist category applications."

Foreign tourists can now apply directly

Applying through the official portal now includes "Foreign" as a nationality option under the Tourist category, with no sponsor step to clear first. In our own test of the live application form, selecting a foreign nationality opened up island selection the same way it does for Indian applicants — a meaningful expansion from the earlier, much more restrictive setup where foreign tourists were effectively limited to Bangaram Island alone.

What foreign tourists still need:

• A valid passport
• A valid Indian visa
• A recent passport-size photo
• The standard Lakshadweep entry permit (applied for online, same as Indian citizens)