Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting Your Visa
These days, getting a visa is relatively straightforward (
Click here
for more information).
The key things to know immediately are:
»
Everyone requires a visa to visit Myanmar.
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Start the process no later than three weeks before your trip, a month before to be safe.
»
If there is no Myanmar embassy or consulate near where you live, it's possible to apply
for a visa online and pick up the stamp at the airport on arrival.
»
If you're crossing the land border to enter the country, you will need to have your visa
already in your passport.
»
Short-notice visas are available at Bangkok's
Myanmar Embassy
( 66-2233 7250;
www.myanmarembassybkk.com
; 132 Sathorn Nua Rd; application 9am-noon, collec-
tion 3.30-4.30pm); the cost is 1260B for same-day processing, 1035B for the next day.
Arranging Permits
There are large areas of Myanmar (mainly in Chin, Kachin, Kayah and Kayin States and
Mandalay and Tanintharyi Regions) that are off limits, or accessible only with permis-
sion. Securing such permission:
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takes time - a minimum of at least two weeks, but more commonly around a month
»
requires the help of an experienced travel agency
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involves paying fees to the government-owned travel agency, MTT, even if you're deal-
ing with another agency
»
usually means dancing to the MTT's tune when it comes to how you visit the area in
question and who you go with.
Sometimes areas that are possible to visit, with or without a permit, suddenly become
off-limits; that's how it can be in Myanmar.
