Myanmar eVisa

Only two categories can be applied for online: the Tourist eVisa, open to ordinary passport holders of 100 countries plus Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, and the Business eVisa, open to 54 countries plus those three regions. Travel documents other than passports are not accepted; a visa obtained on one will lead to refusal of entry.

Other purposes are not available online. For meditation courses or stays at meditation centres, for example, the eVisa FAQ directs applicants to a religious visa from a Myanmar embassy or consulate.

Since the introduction of accounts, you must first register with your full name, e-mail address, password, nationality and phone number; registration is free and one e-mail address can hold only one account. Enter your name exactly as in the machine-readable zone of the passport. Details can be corrected until payment, but not afterwards, and the visa type cannot be changed once paid.

Payment is by Visa, MasterCard or JCB credit card only. An acknowledgement e-mail arrives within an hour of successful payment, and the processing time starts from that e-mail. Unpaid applications stay in Ongoing status and are deleted automatically after 90 days. Group tour members each submit and pay separately.

Regular Tourist and Business applications take at least three working days in Myanmar time, excluding weekends and gazetted holidays; the office announces closures such as the Thadingyut holidays in October. You can follow the status in the Application Dashboard; embassies cannot check it for you. Refusals come without a stated reason.

The approval letter is e-mailed and can also be downloaded from your account. It is valid for 90 days from issue and its dates cannot be changed: if your trip is delayed beyond that, you must apply again. The approval letter is not yet the visa itself.

Print one copy of the approval letter (black and white is acceptable) and present it at the immigration counter; a phone screen may delay entry. There is no need to queue at a visa-on-arrival desk. The officer stamps the visa into the passport you applied with.

eVisa holders may enter only through Yangon, Mandalay or Nay Pyi Taw international airports or the Kawthaung international land border checkpoint, and may leave through any of these. The eVisa is not valid at seaports. If entry is refused, you may be returned on the same flight.

The terms prohibit paid or unpaid work beyond the profession stated in the application and travel to restricted areas without prior permission, and require visitors to obey Myanmar law and not interfere in the country's internal affairs. A Tourist eVisa cannot be changed to a business or social visa after issue.