Lakshadweep for agents: permits, seats and what you can sell

Your client wants "Maldives jaisa, but no passport," and names Lakshadweep. Until this year the honest answer was often a pass: the entry permit needed a local sponsor and a police clearance certificate, and chasing both killed many bookings. Both are gone for the Tourist category, and a new Lakshadweep permit portal took over on 15 October 2026. What decides whether you can sell this trip now is seats and sequence, not paperwork.

What changed in the Lakshadweep permit in 2026

Lakshadweep entry is still permit-only. Rule 3 of the 1967 Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands (Restriction on Entry and Residence) Rules, in force from 1 October 1967, bars anyone who isn't a native from entering or residing without a permit. The permit portal puts the exemptions plainly: only government officials and armed forces members, and their families. Every client still needs a permit, and it must be valid when they board the ship or flight.

What changed is what a Tourist applicant produces. As of October 2026, the e-permit portal carries three standing notices: sponsorship is no longer required for Tourist category applications, a PCC is no longer required, and a form is capped at six applicants.

The old portal's notice says it runs only until 15 October 2026, with every e-permit service on lak.e-permit.utl.gov.in from that date. Fees, per the user manual:

Item	Amount	Notes
Application fee	Rs 50/applicant	Non-refundable, per the portal
Heritage, adult	Rs 200	Manual: "above 18"; assistant: "18+"
Heritage, child	Rs 100	Band "12 to 18" disagrees at exactly 18

Source: e-Permit Portal User Manual. Don't quote an 18-year-old's exact fee; the manual and the portal word the band differently. The payment page shows the exact amount before you pay.

Two more things are reported, not official text: apply 14+ days ahead, and keep transit through Kavaratti or Agatti within 12 hours unless it's on the itinerary (Outlook Traveller; also reported here). Build both into the calendar below.

Filing the e-permit for a client, step by step

The portal runs six steps: Nationality, Purpose and Travel, Applicants, Family, Review, Payment. Each form covers up to six people, so a group of twelve needs two forms. The home page also advertises a team application for organisations, but its limits aren't published.

Four traps on the first filing:

1. No agent login. Only applicant and verifier roles exist; every OTP goes to the account holder's email. File from their account, inbox open.
2. Name every island, including Agatti. The form tells flyers to select Agatti from the dropdown; add every other island the itinerary touches, such as Kavaratti. Whether Bangaram and Thinnakara show as separate options or sit under Agatti isn't published, so check the dropdown. Outlook Traveller reports that transit islands must be listed too.
3. You can't edit after submission, and the same dates can't be applied for twice.
4. Names must match ID exactly. The portal says to check every detail before travel, and the permit is checked at boarding.

Each applicant needs: name as on ID, father's/husband's name, DOB, gender, mobile, email, permanent plus island address, a recent colour passport-size photo, ID proof (Aadhaar, passport, voter ID, licence, or birth certificate for an infant), and an emergency contact. Uploads are capped at 2 MB. That's Aadhaar and photos for six per form; handle and delete them with the DPDP Act's duties in mind.

Verification runs level by level: the ADM office, then Senior ADM, with police and block-office checks for some purposes. The portal's FAQ says a tourist permit is valid up to 30 days from the date of issue and can be renewed for 30 more on paying the fee again. Check the expiry date on the issued permit against the client's return date, especially if you filed a month out. If you already charge for Northeast filing, this is the same managed permit work, just shorter.

When to file: protect your deposits

Check capacity before holding anything; the form's capacity calendar marks a date full when that island has no permit capacity left.

When	What you do	Why
T-60 to T-45	Check capacity per island/date; hold resort and flight	A full date has no capacity left; form needs the island address
T-35 to T-30	Collect every traveller's documents; pick the lead account	No agent login; max six per form
T-30 to T-21	File and pay, naming every island, dates matching tickets	Can't edit after submission; 14+ days is the reported advice
T-21 to T-10	Track by ID daily; clear any "Returned" the same day	A return waits until you correct and resubmit; SPORTS cancellation hits 25% from T-29
T-7	Approve, or cancel while some refund remains	SPORTS refunds nothing inside 7 days
T-3	Download, send on WhatsApp, carry a printout and ID	Checked at boarding; QR scanned on arrival

The Rs 50 application fee is non-refundable, and the SPORTS refund shrinks from T-29, so file in the T-30 to T-21 window, not on departure weekend.

Seats, not rooms, are the constraint

One airstrip serves Lakshadweep, at Agatti. The Kochi-Agatti flight runs about 90 minutes; the government ship passage takes 14-18 hours across AC first (2-berth), AC second (4-berth) and AC seating (How to Reach, updated 29 Sep 2026).

Traffic is growing faster than the airport. AAI data shows Agatti handled 17,436 domestic passengers in August 2026, up 99.8% on a year earlier, against 70,741 at Port Blair that same month (AAI Annexure III-B). Expansion is still at land acquisition: a notification dated 9 October 2026 extends, to 11 April 2027, the deadline for declaring the acquisition of 36,110 sq m on Agatti for the airport (Lakshadweep Gazette, 12 October 2026).

Fly91's schedule, effective 4 October 2026, shows at least one Kochi-Agatti flight every day and a daily Goa (Mopa)-Agatti service, but no Bengaluru flight (Fly91 PDF). The administration's aviation page, last updated February 2026, also lists Alliance Air and IndiGo on Kochi-Agatti and IndiGo on Bengaluru-Agatti; check those airlines' current schedules yourself. A Fly91 Bengaluru service from 12 November 2026 is reported in the trade press, not in that schedule; confirm it's live before promising it (Curly Tales).

Ships are the slow alternative, and thinner this season. The administration runs five all-weather passenger ships between the mainland and the islands, plus six high-speed crafts for inter-island runs only in fair weather, 15 September to 15 May (Port, Shipping & Aviation Dept). SPORTS suspended its Samudram cruise on MV Kavaratti, the largest of the five at 700 passengers, in an 18 August 2026 notice citing the ship's incomplete dry-docking (SPORTS). Compare this to the ferry constraint on the Andaman route: there boats cap you, here it's air seats first.

Who runs the stays, and how you book them

SPORTS, the government's tourism society, sells directly on samudram.utl.gov.in: a Bangaram AC cottage at Rs 18,000 (double/single), extra person Rs 8,500; a Kavaratti AC suite at Rs 11,000, extra person Rs 4,000; 10% higher in December, 5% GST. The basis (per night or cottage) isn't stated, so confirm before quoting (SPORTS packages). It lists roughly 55 authorised agents; how an agency joins isn't published. Cancel 29-7 days out and SPORTS keeps 25%; inside 7 days, nothing comes back (SPORTS cancellation policy).

Praveg Ltd runs the private option: Praveg Atoll on Bangaram (now IHCL SeleQtions-operated, 50 rooms) and Thinnakara (100 rooms). Thinnakara's rate: a Non-Seaview Cocoon from Rs 95,000 + GST for 3 nights per couple, and a Seaview Snail from Rs 1,25,000 + GST (dizcoverpraveg.com). The page doesn't say if that includes meals or the Agatti boat, so get both in writing; commission isn't published either, so ask directly rather than assume.

Costing a 3-night couple package

Example: Thinnakara Non-Seaview Cocoon, Rs 95,000 + GST, 3 nights per couple. At Rs 31,667 a room-night, this is above the Rs 7,500 ceiling for the 5% no-ITC slab (56th GST Council, effective 22 Sep 2025), so the room stays at 18% (confirm with your CA): GST adds Rs 17,100, resort total Rs 1,12,100 per couple.

Permits, 2 adults: 2 x (Rs 50 + Rs 200) = Rs 500. Subtotal before flights: Rs 1,12,600 per couple (Rs 56,300/person).

ASSUMPTION only, not a market rate: Kochi-Agatti return at Rs 14,000/person. Replace with your actual fare; add it in and the package comes to Rs 1,40,600 per couple (Rs 70,300/person), before the Agatti-Thinnakara boat (ask the resort) and your margin.

Benchmark, reported, not like-for-like: a MakeMyTrip 4D/3N package ex-Bengaluru from Rs 84,898/person, bundling flights, stay, permits, meals and a tour manager (Curly Tales). The gap, about Rs 14,600 a person, is what meals, transfers and your margin must fit into.

Family of four (two adults, 14 and 9): application Rs 200, heritage Rs 500 (9-year-old pays none), total Rs 700. Twelve adults need two forms of six: Rs 3,000 total, Rs 1,500 per form.

What your client must hear before paying

Set this in writing before any advance. The Lakshadweep Prohibition Regulation, 1979 bans liquor in the islands and on ships, and SPORTS states Bangaram is the only island exception (SPORTS travel tips). Nude swimming and sunbathing are prohibited, picking coral is a punishable offence, and visitors shouldn't leave their island lagoon without SPORTS permission and an escort. SPORTS also says not to count on card payments, and because ship arrivals depend on weather and port clearance, it advises against booking the return journey from Kochi on the day a ship gets back (SPORTS do's and don'ts).

BEFORE YOU TRAVEL TO LAKSHADWEEP

- Every traveller needs an entry permit. Approval is the administration's
  call, not ours, and isn't guaranteed by any date.
- No alcohol on any island or ship except Bangaram.
- No nude swimming/sunbathing, no coral collecting, no leaving the lagoon
  without an authorised escort.
- Boats and ships run subject to weather; itineraries can change fast.
- Don't count on card payments. Carry cash.
- Returning by ship? Don't book onward travel from Kochi the same day.

• Client: "Do we need someone local to sponsor us?" Reply: Since 2026, no sponsor or police certificate is needed, but every traveller still needs an entry permit, filed with their Aadhaar and a photo about three to four weeks out.
• Client: "Can we drink there, like in the Maldives?" Reply: Only on Bangaram. Every other island and the ships are dry under Lakshadweep's prohibition law.

Selling Lakshadweep against the Maldives

The honest pitch isn't "a cheaper Maldives," it's a different product for a specific client: no passport, rupee pricing, a permit at roughly Rs 250 an adult. Against it: prohibition outside Bangaram, a permit valid up to 30 days and checked at boarding, and one airstrip whose expansion is still at land acquisition.

That's a client, not a demographic: families wanting a short no-passport trip, divers who've done a Maldives reef, groups fine without a bar everywhere. Keep the pitch for Lakshadweep callers, and send Maldives-set clients to what actually moves that margin: the transfers, not the room rate.

Common questions

Lakshadweep permit kaise milega?

Apply on lak.e-permit.utl.gov.in under Tourist/Tourism (as of October 2026). No sponsor or PCC is needed; the form takes a photo, ID proof and basic details for up to six people. The portal cites "5 days average" in one place, "3 working days" elsewhere, so file early.

Do tourists still need a PCC or a sponsor?

No, as of October 2026. The official portal states neither is required for Tourist applications; treat any supplier still asking for either as out of date.

How many people can go on one permit?

Up to six, applicant plus family. A bigger group needs a second form filed alongside the first.

Lakshadweep me daru allowed hai kya?

Only on Bangaram, as of October 2026. The Lakshadweep Prohibition Regulation, 1979 bans liquor in the islands and on ships, and SPORTS names Bangaram as the one exception.

Can you fly to Lakshadweep from Bengaluru or Goa?

Goa, yes, daily, per Fly91's 4 October 2026 schedule. For Bengaluru, a Fly91 service is reported from 12 November 2026 but isn't in that schedule, and the administration's February 2026 page lists an IndiGo route; confirm what's actually flying before quoting.

The short version

• No sponsor, no PCC for the Tourist category, but the permit stays mandatory and is checked at boarding.
• Everything moved to lak.e-permit.utl.gov.in from 15 October 2026, per the old portal's notice.
• One form covers up to six people. Name every island, including Agatti if flying in.
• Check capacity, then hold the flight and resort, then file, ideally 21-30 days out.
• Agatti's one airstrip is the real constraint: its domestic traffic was up 99.8% year on year in August 2026, and airport expansion is still at land acquisition.
• Prohibition covers every island and ship except Bangaram. Set that before an advance, not after arrival.
• Quote resort, GST, permits and flights separately; confirm boat transfers and meals in writing before promising them.