Afghanistan Travel Permits for Tourists (2026): The Ministry Letter and Provincial Registration

By Al Hamid Tour and Travel · Updated 2026-10-27 · Kabul, Afghanistan

A visa lets you into Afghanistan; the travel permits let you move around it. This is the part of the paperwork most visitors have never heard of, and the one checkpoints ask about. Here is what the permits are, how they are issued, what they cost, and what we do for you.

Which permits do tourists need in Afghanistan?

• A visa, which lets you into the country: the online e-Visa for arrivals at Kabul airport, or an embassy visa.
• A travel letter from the Ministry of Information and Culture in Kabul, naming the provinces you will stay in.
• Registration in each province, at the provincial Information and Culture department, soon after you arrive.
• Extra permission for a few sites, such as the Buddhist city of Mes Aynak in Logar.

How do you get the travel letter in Kabul?

1. Decide your route first: the letter names each province you will stay in, so a province left off cannot be added on the road.
2. Bring your passport with the visa, and a copy of each. Your guide or operator brings the written route.
3. At the Ministry the application is signed by two officials, and the official who signs the letter may ask you a few questions. Travellers report that it takes about two hours.
4. Pay the fee, about 1,000 AFN per province, and collect the letter. Keep the original with you for the whole trip.

Government offices close on Fridays, and some provincial offices close from Thursday midday, so plan the Kabul visit for a weekday morning. On our tours it is fitted into your first day in Kabul.

How do you register in each province?

When you reach a province named in your letter, you show the letter and your passport at the provincial Information and Culture department, usually in the provincial capital, and your stay is recorded. In Bamyan, for example, this is done in Bamyan town before you visit the Buddha niches or Band-e Amir. It takes a short stop if the office is open, so arrivals are planned for working hours.

What do checkpoints ask for?

There are checkpoints on the main roads and at the entrances to towns. Guards usually ask for your passport, your visa and the travel letter, and look at whether the province you are entering is on the letter. Keep a paper copy of each and a photo on your phone, let your guide do the talking, and answer simply if you are asked something. On our tours this is a routine stop of a few minutes.

How much do the permits cost, and how long do they take?

Fees and steps change from time to time, and travellers report slightly different ones. We check them before each trip and tell you if anything has changed.

Can you get the permits without a tour operator?

Some independent travellers have done it, but it is slow without Dari or Pashto, the rules are not written down in one place, and a missing province or a closed office can cost you a day. That is why almost every visitor travels with a registered operator or guide, who knows the offices and keeps the route matched to the letter.

What does Al Hamid Tour and Travel arrange for you?

• The visa invitation letter, written for your dates and route.
• The travel letter from the Ministry, with every province on your route, on your first working day in Kabul.
• The registration stop in each province, built into the day plan.
• Copies for the checkpoints, and a guide who handles them.

The permit fees are included in our tour prices. Read our visa guide for the visa itself, and see all tours and prices.

Sources: Against the Compass: travelling in Afghanistan (2026); Untamed Borders: Afghanistan visa; our own permit applications in Kabul and the provinces, 2025–2026.