RESTRICTED AREA PERMIT (RAP)

Protected Area Permit (PAP):

Under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958, all areas falling between the ‘Inner line’, as defined in the order, and the International Border of the State have been declared as a Protected Area. Currently, Protected Areas are located in the following States –

1. Whole of Arunachal Pradesh
   
   
2. Parts of Himachal Pradesh
   
   
3. Parts of Jammu & Kashmir
   
   
4. Whole of Manipur
   
   
5. Whole of Mizoram
   
   
6. Whole of Nagaland
   
   
7. Parts of Rajasthan
   
   
8. Whole of Sikkim (partly in Protected Area and partly in Restricted Area)
   
   
9. Parts of Uttarakhand
   
   

Restricted areas permit (RAP):

Under the Foreigners (Restricted) Areas Order, 1963, the following areas have been declared as `Restricted’ Areas –

1. Andaman & Nicobar Islands - Entire Union Territory
   
   
2. Sikkim - Part of the State
   
   

Notable points:

• A foreigner is not normally allowed to visit a Protected / Restricted Area unless it is established to the satisfaction of the Government that there are extraordinary reasons to justify such a visit.
  
  
• Every foreigner, except a citizen of Bhutan, who desires to enter these Areas, is required to obtain a special permit from a competent authority.
  
  

Recent Order:

• Under the recent decision, the 29 inhabited islands of Andaman and Nicobar chain have been excluded from the RAP till December 31, 2022. Thus Foreigners can visit them without RAP.
  
  
• However, citizens of Afghanistan, China and Pakistan would continue to require RAP, which shall be issued only with the prior approval of the ministry.