APPLYING FOR A TOURIST VISA

 

The Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population’s e-visa website

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: The following information relates to Myanmar tourist visas only. For business visas, please visit the relevant section of the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population’s website (click here).

 

Most nationalities will be required to apply for a visa before entering the country; failure to do so will see you refused entry (Myanmar’s immigration is very strict with this).

 

As of June 2019, 100 countries were eligible to apply for a tourist e-visa. To view the full list, please click here and scroll down to point 15.

 

As long as the intended length of stay does not exceed 14 days and you are entering / departing via Yangon, Mandalay or Naypyidaw international airports, passport holders from the following countries need not apply.

 

  • Brunei
  • Cambodia
  • Indonesia
  • Laos
  • Philippines
  • Thailand
  • Vietnam

 

If you are a passport holder from one of these countries and wish to stay longer than 14 days, or enter / depart via operational overland border checkpoints, it will be necessary to apply for the appropriate e-visa.

 

Unless the intended length of stay exceeds 30 days, passport holders from the following countries do not require a visa and can enter / depart through Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyidaw international airports. It will also be possible to enter / depart using the international land border checkpoints of Tachileik, Myawaddy, Kawthaung, Htikee, Tamu and Rih Khaw Dar.

 

  • Singapore

 

From the 1st October 2018 until 30th September 2019* passport holders from the following countries can travel visa free for up to 30 days and can enter / depart through Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyidaw international airports. It will also be possible to enter / depart using the international land border checkpoints of Tachileik, Myawaddy, Kawthaung, Htikee, Tamu and Rih Khaw Dar.

 

  • Japan
  • South Korea
  • Hong Kong
  • Macau

 

*This is part of a one year pilot programme, the renewal of which is yet to be decided.

 

A visa on arrival service is currently / will be offered to passport holders of the following countries:

 

  • Australia (from October 2019)
  • China
  • Germany (from October 2019)
  • India
  • Italy (from October 2019)
  • Russia (from October 2019)
  • Spain (from October 2019)
  • Switzerland (from October 2019)

 

The validity of this will be 30 days and it can only be obtained at Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyidaw international airports. A fee of USD50 will apply.

 

The advantage of the visa on arrival service is convenience. The disadvantage is that you will not get permission to enter Myanmar until the day you arrive and it will be necessary to queue in two separate lines (one for the visa on arrival counter and another for immigration). For peace of mind and the speediest possible entry, the e-visa service is our preferred application of choice.

 

In order to apply, it will be necessary to complete your application online using the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population’s website (click here to access).

 

The standard tourist e-visa allows the holder to enter / depart Myanmar through Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyidaw international airports. It will also be possible to enter / depart using the international land border checkpoints of Tachileik, Myawaddy, Kawthaung, Htikee, Tamu and Rih Khaw Dar. A USD50 fee will apply, with the processing time taking up to 72-hours.

 

To receive an e-visa decision within 24-hours, you may wish to consider using the e-visa express service (click here). A USD56 fee will apply.

 

Before applying, you must make sure that:

 

  • Your passport is valid for six months (after the date of departure from Myanmar).
  • You have a colour passport photo (4.8 cm X 3.8 cm) taken during the last three months. With this, don’t worry so much about the timescale; you just need to make sure the photo you submit bears a true likeness to your current self.

 

Other important information to note:

 

  • The validity date of the e-visa approval letter is 90 days; you must enter the country within this time.
  • Please note, the approval letter IS NOT the visa.
  • Immigration will issue your visa when you enter the country and it will be valid for 28 days.
  • Technically It is possible to overstay for up to two weeks at a cost of USD3 per day (plus a USD3 administration fee), but we’d recommend against doing this as it can cause problems with the hotels; you’ll also need the exact change in pristine USD notes (cards or Myanmar currency will not be accepted). The immigration staff also have a tendency to be unreasonable when it comes to matters such as this, so our advice would only be to attempt this in an emergency.
  • The visa is only valid for single entry. Multiple entries will require multiple visas.
  • Once payment for the visa has been made, the fee is non-refundable.
  • It will be necessary to settle the cost of the visa using a major credit or debit card (currently only Visa, Master Card, American Express and JCB are accepted).
  • Home stays are not permitted, so the application will need to clearly mention the name of a registered hotel / resort. This can make booking through websites such as Airbnb problematic.
  • In the case you are looking to enter Myanmar on a cruise, please contact us in advance as special permission will need to be arranged. E-visas are not accepted at any of Myanmar’s seaports.

 

The above mentioned points are likely to make the process sound long winded, but for most countries it is relatively straight forward and hassle free. Should you have any problems applying, please contact a member of Tour Mandalay’s team for assistance.

 

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