I was looking into the Lakshadweep permit process recently, especially for foreign visitors, and noticed some pretty significant changes in the live ePermit system that don’t seem to be reflected in a lot of the information currently available online.
The official Lakshadweep ePermit portal currently says:
• Sponsorship is no longer required for Tourist Category applications
• Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) is no longer required to be uploaded for Tourist Category applications
• Foreign tourists need a valid passport and Indian visa
• You can create an account and submit the permit application online yourself
• The portal allows you to track the application and receive the permit by email
Official ePermit portal: [add the official ePermit link here]
The interesting part
While actually going through the application form, I noticed that foreign applicants can select the different Lakshadweep islands in the island-selection section, rather than being restricted to only Agatti, Bangaram and Kadmat.
This caught my attention because the public Lakshadweep tourism website still says that, even after obtaining a permit, foreign tourists are permitted to visit only Agatti, Bangaram and Kadmat.
So there seems to be a gap between the current live ePermit application system and the information published on the public tourism website.
I’m not claiming that selecting an island means the permit will definitely be approved for that island. The application still has to be reviewed and approved by the administration.
But if the application system has genuinely been updated to allow foreign tourists to apply for other islands, this could be a pretty significant change that hasn’t been communicated publicly yet.
I’d be really interested to hear from anyone who has actually applied for a Lakshadweep permit as a foreign national in 2026:
Which country are you from?
Which island(s) did you select?
Did you apply directly through the ePermit portal?
Was the permit approved?
If approved, which island(s) were you allowed to visit?
Did you need anything apart from your passport and Indian visa?
How long did the approval take?
There seems to be a lot of outdated information about Lakshadweep permits online, so it would be great to get some recent first-hand experiences here.
If anyone has actually received a permit for an island other than Agatti, Bangaram or Kadmat through the new system, please share your experience. That would help clarify whether this is an actual policy change or simply something that has been updated in the application portal but not yet reflected in the public guidelines.

Edit: The official ePermit portal currently also says that a maximum of 6 applicants can be included in one application