Mizoram to implement Protected Area Permit regime for foreigners
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In an official statement, Mizoram Home Secretary Vanlalmawia confirmed that the state government is actively working on implementing the PAP, also referred to as the Restricted Area Permit (RAP).
The Mizoram government is in the process of reintroducing the Protected Area Permit (PAP) system, which requires foreign nationals to obtain special permission to visit certain restricted areas, a senior official from the Home Department said this week.
The move follows a directive from the central government to reinstate the PAP requirement in Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland—three northeastern states that share a border with Myanmar.
In an official statement, Mizoram Home Secretary Vanlalmawia confirmed that the state government is actively working on implementing the PAP, also referred to as the Restricted Area Permit (RAP).
"We are in the process of implementing the PAP. A holding area is also being identified at Lengpui airport as directed by the Union Home Ministry," he said.
Notably, the whole of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram, and parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand are defined as protected areas.
In 2011, the Centre relaxed the PAP regime in Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram to boost tourism, exempting all foreigners except those from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and China. This exemption, extended periodically, was valid until December 2027. However, in December last year, the Ministry of Home Affairs reimposed PAP in these states to regulate the foreigner movement.