Myanmar has become one of the most attractive tourist destinations in recent years. As we saw and discussed in our previous post on whether it is safe to travel to Myanmar, this destination was selected some years ago as one of the most attractive tourist destinations with the highest projected future growth, along with other well-known destinations such as Croatia.
This reputation means that more and more travellers are adding Myanmar to their list of destinations for their next holiday. However, it is important to know that to enter Myanmar you must have a visa, although it is very easy to obtain.
In this article we will explain how to obtain a visa for Myanmar easily and quickly.
How to obtain a visa for Myanmar
Any tourist, whether Spanish or not, who wishes to visit the Republic of Myanmar must have the corresponding visa.
As in many other countries around the world, and as is also common in other Southeast Asian countries such as Laos, you can obtain your visa for Burma upon arrival at the airport, at a country embassy (there is none in Spain, so we do not recommend this option), or electronically.
This last option is much faster and will save you queues upon arrival in the country. Remember that to obtain your entry visa you must have a passport with at least 6 months’ validity at the time you submit the application.
Visa information and costs for Burma (Myanmar)
You should know that the visa for Myanmar has a maximum validity of 28 days from the moment you enter the country. The same visa expires after 90 days, which means that for 3 months from the time the visa is issued, you may spend a maximum of 28 days in the country.
In addition, the visa for Myanmar only allows one entry and one exit, which means that if you want to return to the country you will have to apply for another visa.
It is also important that, in addition to having a minimum validity of 6 months, your passport has at least 2 blank pages: one for the entry stamp and one for the exit stamp. For Spanish tourists, the fixed cost of obtaining a visa is US $50, whether the visa is electronic or on arrival. [/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”9398″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]
Myanmar visa on arrival
If you arrive at the Myanmar border without a visa, do not worry—you can apply for it at the border crossing itself.
The problem with applying for a visa on arrival is that you will have to join the relevant immigration queue, which can be quite long if you enter the country through a busy airport and travel at a time of year when the country receives many tourists.
Obtaining the visa on arrival is as simple as completing the immigration paperwork, paying the corresponding fee, and waiting for the border officer to stamp your passport with the entry stamp.
The problem arises when many tourists need to complete the same procedure as you; and sometimes the officer on duty may try to charge you more than the legally established fee.
Myanmar visa through an embassy
Burma does not have an embassy or consulate in Spain, so we cannot use this method to obtain our visa.
There are Myanmar embassies and consulates in neighbouring countries such as Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.
If we are already in another Southeast Asian country and need a visa for Myanmar, there are embassies in Laos, Thailand, and Indonesia, to name a few. However, this means that we must travel to the embassy to complete the paperwork to obtain our visa for Myanmar, with the resulting loss of time and money on travel.
In most cases, tourists travelling to a Southeast Asian country do so on an already planned route, which means deviating from it requires making certain changes to the itinerary. For that reason, the most recommended option is to obtain the electronic visa, which you will receive pre-approved by email within a maximum of 4 days.
Electronic visa for Myanmar
You can obtain the e-visa or electronic visa for Myanmar through the website of the country’s Ministry of Immigration.
In this case, all you need to do is complete the relevant documentation, add a scanned passport photo (it can even be a photo taken with your phone against a white background), confirm your personal details, pay the fees online with your credit card, and receive the pre-approved visa by email within a maximum of 4 days.
The advantage of paying online is that the exchange rate into your currency will be applied automatically, with no additional charges. With this method, you will avoid the queues to complete all the immigration paperwork, and all you will need to do is wait for the border officer to stamp your visa and your passport upon entry into the country.
If you choose to apply for the electronic visa, we recommend that you print two copies of it, as you may be asked for a copy both when entering and leaving the country.
At OneMoreDestination, we take care of everything
If you want to avoid problems and not waste time completing online procedures, we can take care of applying for and issuing your visa to enter Myanmar during the planning and design of your trip to Southeast Asia.
