Is there a simple procedure or what are the procedures to obtain a permit to visit Lakshadweep islands?

Question

I wanted to know why Indian citizens need a permit to visit Lakshadweep, and an answer on Quora says:

"To protect the interests of the general public of Lakshadweep, about 95% of whom are Scheduled Tribes, the Administrator has, with previous approval of Central Govt. and in exercise of powers vested under Laccadive, Minicoy & Amindivi Islands (laws) Regulation, 1965, made the Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands (Restriction on Entry and Residence) Rules, 1967. As per these rules, every person, who is not a native of these islands, shall have to obtain a permit in the Prescribed Form from the Competent authority, for entering into and residing in these islands". Lakshadweep also has a full-fledged naval base. So, permit adds an additional security layer.

Cited from: Wayback Machine, 2015 archive of the department of revenue and the naval base establishment.

Since the requirement of a permit exists since 2004, and the naval base came up in 2012, it left me wondering if things could have changed as of 2019, that such strict restrictions and permits would not be necessary for a simple vacation to relax, snorkel, kayak and scuba dive?

Some websites say that a police clearance is required from near the residence of the visitor and then another clearance is required from a government department in Kochi. Some people write on their blogs that it's not that much of a hassle to visit. Some recommend the government tour packages, some recommend the private packages, but there's a lack of a clear, step-by-step explanation on how to get the permit and book a vacation to the islands. Could anyone help with providing these steps?

For example:

• Where are the offices located, from where I can obtain the permits? What precautions should I take and what insider information do I need to know to avoid hassles, scams and delays? Both for people who know the local language and for those who don't.
• Is a police verification from a police station close to my house required (if Indian citizen)? What are the procedures followed for this? Hassles, scams, delays, precautions, necessary documents?
• If a resort or agent can arrange for the permits, how to I know which ones can be trusted and where are they located? Precautions, scams, delays, reliability and extra charges?
• If I book one of the government's vacation packages like "Samudram", do they arrange for the permits and police verification or am I expected to do it?
• Any other info that would be helpful for someone who would prefer to follow their own itinerary instead of following what some pre-planned package offers?

A wish I hope could be conveyed to organizers of Lakshadweep tours: To have a simple, reliable online procedure to get the permits and tickets booked, without having to visit any offices and without having to go through any agents. To be able to decide the duration of the stay and activities without having to follow an itinerary decided by someone else.

Update: A person I know, went to Lakshadweep for official work. He asked around a lot, but even he couldn't get a clear step-by-step procedure of how to go there on vacation. Somebody there told him that tourism is restricted so that they can preserve the local population's simple, humble culture and also preserve the pristine natural beauty of the place (which is a sensible thing to do). Also, apparently since the islands are small, they cannot support the load and resources required for a large number of tourists. Perhaps the Lakshadweep admin office or the ticket counter at Kochi could provide more info about procedures, if someone visits and asks for details.

Answer 1

Lakshadweep is remote and undeveloped, so fully independent tourism is not really possible. With the exception of a few places on the main island of Agatti, almost all resorts in the islands are operated by the government-owned Society for Promotion of Nature Tourism and Sports (SPORTS). As far as I'm aware there are no hostels, homestays etc.

So if you want a simple procedure, the answer is easy: contact one of the resorts and make a booking, and they'll sort out all the permits for you. (Every one of their guests, Indians included, needs one, so they're quite used to the paperwork.) But if you want fully independent travel, you'll need to find an islander to invite you, and that's going to be a challenge since the population is tiny and.most don't even speak Hindi, much less English.

Answer 2

For the Samudram trip, you can either book via the official travel agents, or register, login and check on this official website. Bookings can be done via the website (whenever bookings begin) or via the travel agents. The agents charge no extra commission. If bookings are exhausted, you can still contact the authorised travel agents and ask if any emergency seats are available. These are seats meant for government officials etc. who suddenly need to travel. If those seats are not used, it can be alloted to you even though it isn't listed on the Samudram website. I believe such emergency seats can be booked even a week or two before the trip date (better ask the agent to confirm).

In 2024 I visited Lakshadweep (tips mentioned here) via the Samudram package. Since we spent the nights on the ship, there was no need of obtaining a permit or police clearance certificate. Among the authorized travel agents, I contacted Gol Travels, and found them to be honest, sincere and very helpful. Even if you plan to visit Lakshadweep by flight, the authorized travel agents can guide you and arrange for the trip. Even the people at the Lakshadweep administration office in Kochi, are honest and helpful. Nothing to worry about.

A private cruise ship (Cordelia) also takes people to Lakshadweep, but the highlight seemed to be about the cruise on the ship, rather than the island, so I'd recommend the Samudram package.

For the resort bookings and flights, you can contact the travel agents. They'll inform you about the details. You need to plan for this many months in advance, since I'm told the rooms get booked early. The police clearance certificate can be obtained by yourself online via whatever government website offers it in your state. However, booking rooms may be very expensive, and traveling by boat between islands could also be expensive. Going to Maldives instead, might be cheaper.

The much cheaper option of visiting Lakshadweep, is if you know one of the natives or if your family member is a government official who is visiting Lakshadweep for work-related purposes. You'll have to do the necessary leg-work to get the permit and police clearance certificate, but once you do, you might get to stay at the island for as less as INR 500 per day. You also get to travel there either by ship or by plane.

Now, a search will show you many videos on Youtube, where travel vloggers have explained many details on how to reach Lakshadweep. This youtuber says Ammathi scuba can organize rooms and permits. The room rates appeared reasonable. As per the vlogger, the permit price is cheaper if you obtain the police clearance certificate.

The reason that not much of tourism is permitted at Lakshadweep, does indeed seem to be to preserve Nature and the way of life of the people. It's worth doing so, since the place was stunningly beautiful.