How to apply for a Myanmar tourist visa

[UPDATE] Starting December 2013, Philippine passport holders, along with citizens of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, and Vietnam are exempt from requiring a visa to travel in Myanmar for a maximum of 14 days.

In May 2010, it was announced that visa on arrival (VOA) will be available at the Yangon and Mandalay airports. This meant that foreigners visiting Myanmar no longer have to apply for a visa prior to departure. However, in September 2010, the VOA was suspended, due to the (then) upcoming November elections. There’s no news yet whether the suspension has been lifted, but if you have plans on visiting Myanmar, it’s best that you apply for a tourist visa beforehand.

Unlike the Australian tourist visa application, the Myanmar visa does not require as much documents. Along with your filled up application form, you need to submit the following:

• Valid passport
• Photocopy of valid passport
• 2 passport size photos
• CD with scanned copy of passport photo
• Signed waiver that you will not publish anything against the Myanmar government.

I’m not joking about the last one. The government is wary of people working in the media (journalists, photographers, writers, etc.), so if that’s your line of work, state a different job in your application form. They don’t ask who your employer is anyway.

You have to personally apply for the visa. The Myanmar embassy in the Philippines is located at the 8th floor of the Gervasia Corporate Center, along Amorsolo Street (on Google Maps: http://goo.gl/maps/HbvO). The building is right across Makati Cinema Square. Look for the Benchmark Corporate Center and Fabricare signs. Visa application and pick up is from 8am to 2pm. Not a lot of people travel to Myanmar, so there’s a high chance you’re the only one applying for a visa when you visit the embassy.

If you’re going to have your photo taken before applying for a visa, it’s best to do it at the Kodak studio inside Makati Cinema Square. They already know the requirements of the embassy; you can have you photo taken and have the CD copy for only Php 78. If you already have photos on hand, scan it at 100%, 300dpi, then save as JPG and burn unto a CD.

The visa application fee is US$25 or Php 1,100. This is cheaper than the visa on arrival, which costs $30. Visa processing takes 3 – 5 working days. The Myanmar tourist visa is valid for 3 months and for up to 28 days upon arrival in the country.

Myanmar Embassy
8th floor of the Gervasia Corporate Center
Amorsolo Street, Makati City
Phone: (02) 893-1944, (02) 812-3644
Google Maps: http://goo.gl/maps/HbvO