Permit to Bhutan from Royal Bhutan Consulate, Kolkata

Update for getting an online permit (Dec 2017): 

Response from

Consul (Immigration), Royal Bhutanese Consulate General 
Dear Mr. Vivek,
With reference to your mail, this is to inform that currently, only passport holders can apply for permits online. The same must be routed through any Bhutanese travel agent or hotel registered with the Tourism Council of Bhutan. The list and contact details of travel agents and hotels are available at www.tourism.gov.bt  Kindly get in touch with concern travel agent/hotel for processing your permit for Bhutan. 
This means online permit application facility can be availed only through registered Bhutanese tour operators and TCB certified hotels.
Click here for the details
*********

YES !!! it is possible to get the permit for Bhutan from Royal Bhutan Consulate, Kolkata. And YES you can get the permit for your friends who are travelling with you (The one who is applying must be travelling through)

Address

General Bhutan House, 6, Mall Road, Kolkata 700 080

Phone No – 033-2559 3676 / 2560 0756 / 2560 0049

Bhutan Consulate Route map

Timings of office hours

9 to 5 but documents are only accepted till 12.

Required Doc

  1. For adults: 1 copy of passport size photograph, Passport or Voter Card
  2. For children: A copy of the birth certificate with 1 copy of passport photograph.
  3. Filled Entry permit application:

bhutan

Note: This is the application which I filled in 2015. There could be some changes, please use the most recent one.

NOTE: Ministry of Home Affairs has clarified that Aadhaar (UID) card is not an acceptable travel document for travel to Nepal/Bhutan (link)

Indian citizens can travel to Bhutan or Nepal against a passport or a valid voter’s identity card, issued by the Election Commission of India

The timing for submission and issuance of travel documents:

Particulars Timings Remarks
Submission of application along with documents 9 am – 1 pm (Monday to Friday) Requires at least 8 working days for processing
Issuance of entry permit 2 pm – 5 pm (Monday to Friday)

General Information

  • The consulate advises booking taxis bearing Bhutan number plates. But it is not mandatory. If you are booking an Indian taxi, an additional road permit for the driver and car will also be required. It is issued from Phuntsholing and can only be issued after individual’s permit is issued
  • Indian Currency is used widely inside Bhutan (in fact preferred). Currency exchanges are not mandatory for Indian nationals. Also, Bhutanese Currency (Nu.) rates are at par with Indian Rupees
  • Visitors are not allowed to carry INR 1000 and INR 500 notes but I did and faced no such problems (Note: Post demonetization, it is advised to carry notes of 100 or of lower denominations)
  • Druk Punjab National Bank in Thimphu and Phuntsholing has ATM facility from where one can withdraw at a transaction charge of Rs.25
  • Carry enough cash. Bhutan is not a cashless economy
  • If you are planning to travel beyond Paro and Thimpu, a special area permit is required which is only issued at Thimpu on working days of the week 

An important note to Indian Nationals travelling to Bhutan at Bhutan Consulate: 
20150226212926

More details on Bhutan trip –

Click on images below for detailed post –

 

Bhutan_Thimpu 2 - Untitled Page

Bhutan_Thimpu 3 - Untitled Page

paro 1 - Untitled Pagephobjikha - Untitled Page

phobjikha - portrait

Bhutan_Thimpu 2

37 thoughts on “Permit to Bhutan from Royal Bhutan Consulate, Kolkata”

  1. Have anyone been able to get the permit from the royal-bhutan-consulate-kolkata recently? I tried calling the numbers and a visit to the consulate also didn’t help. There was nobody to whom we can talk.

    Like

      1. Hi Vivek

        We are 18 people traveling to Bhutan we done the flight booking, reaching on 24th December and can we get the permit on 25th dec

        Or can i apply for permit in Kolkata consulate for all 18 we are from Chennai

        Like

  3. hi vivek, this is soumen biswas, i went to get permit to bhutan from the kolkata office ( ballygunge), unfortunately they have stop issuing permit from kolkata office, i went to there office yesterday. do you know any other option how can i get it from kolkata

    Like

  6. Hi.i am from kolkata wants to go bhutan with thimpu side seen.any one can sugest me chepest and safe jurney from bagdogra (3:45pm)saturday
    May i got permit from bhutan website..pls told the website add
    Is two night stay enough for small trip
    Than in advance

    Like

    1. Hi Niladri,
      will try answer your queries in sequence
      1. You can hire a small vehicle from Bagdogra for INR 2500 or so on per day basis. We did the same
      2. No you can not get the permit form bhutan website. You can either get it from Phunsholing or Kolkata consulate
      3. Yes two night is sufficient for small trip
      Cheers !!!

      Like

      1. Online permit is available through Authorized Tour Operators. You need to share soft copies of your passports and photos along with your itinerary. I was charged Rs250 pp.

        Liked by 1 person

  7. Hi!! Can I get permit from Kolkata offc on Saturday? In working days it is tough to me . Or my husband can get his permit and also my permit on behalf of me?

    Like

    1. I don’t think they would entertain Saturday request, you can definitely check back with them. I think your husband however can collect your permit on your behalf

      Like

  8. Hey Vivek
    Is it possible to get a Bhutan permit from bhutan consulate in delhi? Also is it possible to apply now? I will be travelling solo to Bhutan in March. I was hoping to stay at Monasteries, if that is allowed, or in hostels or other cheaper accommodations. What so you suggest regarding the accommodation?

    Like

    1. Hi Siddharth,

      Sorry for late reply .. was travelling … My Answers to your queries in sequence:
      1. I am not sure about Delhi Consulate. Its definitely worth a shot. I will also try to find it out and will let you know.
      2. Yes you can apply. The permit will be issued for the visiting period as desired by you
      3. Not sure .. but I didn’t see any one staying there. Unlike Indian monasteries, Bhutanese Dzongs serves as office of local administration, so it could be difficult to stay there.
      4. I would suggest you to stay in hotels (hostel culture is still not there) as it is inside city and closer to eateries. There are many budget accommodations in Thimpu and Paro (visit – http://www.hotel.bt/)

      Happy Journey !!!

      Vivek

      Like

  9. Hallo, I am planning to travel to Bhutan on December 3rd week. Is it necessary to book hotels prior to get entry permit ?
    I am planning to book hotels after entering the City(Thimphu and Paro), But I read somewhere that without proper itenary they do not give entry permit.

    Please clarify If you are aware of such things.

    Like

    1. Hi Shankar,

      I don’t think its necessary to book any hotel in order to get permit. I didn’t do it. You just require valid identity proof (voter id or passport) and a couple of photographs.

      I think it could be the case for non – Indians. Anyways to be on safer side you could just book without paying cash on Booking.com or Hotel.com

      Lets me know if this the case. I will update it on my blog.

      Cheers !!!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Sorry.. somehow I missed ur messages.. yes booking is not required. Just to be in safer side I called up few hotels and verified that rooms are available

        Liked by 1 person

  11. @Suman, @Vivek
    I am planning to visit around same time. 27th February’ 2017. Looks like they have two days public holiday on Monday and Tuesday. So how can I get it done? If I go to Kolkata Consulate office, how much time they are going to take before giving me the permit?

    Like

  12. Today I visited Bhutan Consulate at Mall Road . I have been told that the entry permit is now availabe from 48, Tivoli Court, 1a, Ballygunge Circular Road, Ballygunge, Kolkata – 700019
    This is for information of the persons intending to visit BHUTAN.

    Like

    1. Hi Kunal,

      Thanks for the update. Can you please confirm the procedure so that I can update the blog accordingly. Feel free to reach out to me to explain the process at 9004720203 🙂

      Cheers to travelling !!!

      Like

    2. Hi Kunal , can you let me know what are the timings and also what document they require for permit. Also whether this office works on saturday?? awaiting your reply.

      Like

  13. Hi, I want to travel to Paro and Thimpu. However, I will reach Phuntsholing on Saturday and it seems they do not issue permits on weekends. Can I get it done at Kolkata so that I need not wait till Monday at Phuntsholing?

    Like

    1. You can try that however the I would say the probability is very less. Let them know of your situation and politely ask for the permit. This you will need to do before Friday as the you would require one day for permit for your vehicle which is done only at Phuntsholing. Feel free to reach out to me on +919004720203 in case of any additional help 🙂

      Happy Journey

      Like

      1. I am from Chennai. Am planning to visit during Losar(New Year holidays, 27-28 Feb 2017) through Phuntsholing Is it possible to get the entry permit in advance through Post/Courier from Kolkata as the immigration office @ Phuntsholing will be closed?

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Sorry for late reply, I was travelling.

        I doubt that they will provide permit through post. However pls reach out to them, they will definitively help you out. Also let me know of it, will update it over blog.

        Vivek 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Nice blog mate. Just stumbled upon your blog while searching for Indian Bloggers. BTW, is Royal Bhutan Consulate still at Dum Dum (6, Mall Road, Kolkata 700 080)? I heard that it got shifted to (Ballygunge) 48, Tivoli Court, 1a, Ballygunge Circular Road, Ballygunge, Kolkata – 700019

    Like

    1. Thanks for the compliments Krisnandu :). I am sorry I am not aware of the change in address…. Will try to gather this info and will update it subsequently
      Update:
      The Address is of Bhutan consulate is same –
      General Bhutan House, 6, Mall Road, Kolkata 700 080

      It has not shifted

      Like

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s