Myanmar is currently a highly exciting tourist destination internationally. This place has tremendous captivating sceneries and it is attractive to foreign tourists from the nature, culture to the agriculture. Moreover, it is becoming increasing easy to visit this country in a trip with new policies in terms of visa. This article will provide the most useful information about visa policy, how to obtain Myanmar visa and some guides when travelling in Myanmar so that tourists will find it easier to go and visit this country.
Firstly, to have a convenient and comfortable trip to Myanmar, you should get to know about the weather in this country through some Myanmar travel guides. Myanmar has three seasons: the autumn from October to the February of the next year; the rain season from July to September and the other months is the dry season. The time which is considered the best to start your plan to go to Myanmar for a trip is the autumn, when the weather is cool and there is not much rain.
There are so many things to prepare before starting your trip to Myanmar, but one of the most important things to be concerned is obtaining an eligible visa. We all know that it is essential for a foreign citizen to have a visa to Myanmar before entering a country, either for doing a business or visiting that country in a short trip. If you wish to visit Myanmar, unless you come from one of the eligible visa exempt countries, you will need to have a visa. Besides, each tourist need to have a passport which is valid for at least 6 more months.
Passports and entrance visas is compulsory to all tourists. The current visa policy in Myanmar allows passport holders in 8 countries in Southeast Asia to freely enter for Myanmar excursions and business up to 14 days. These 8 countries include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. However, this policy is only adapted for Thai citizens in case of air arrival and for Singaporeans in case their trips in Myanmar last for only 30 days.
The eVisa system is established in Myanmar to help the process of application simpler for visitors when they want to enter this country, especially those who come from states which do not have their own embassy in Myanmar. This country started to run the eVisa system on the September 1st of 2014. This system is issued online only for the purpose of tourism and business visit. Within 3 days working, eVisa is issued for foreign tourists and its validity is up to 90 days from the day the eVisa was issued. If foreigners obtain Myanmar visa in this way, they are allowed to stay in this country up to 28 days. This number is adapted for the case of tourists. In case of business men, foreigners are allowed to stay in Myanmar up to 70 days. This period of time can be extended by a further 14 days with the cost of 3 US dollars per day plus a possible 3 dollars for administration fee. In case the foreigners overstay, they might encounter difficulties when booking their trips for travelling or hotels to spend their time in Myanmar. It is because there are many staff in myanmar hotels do not aware of the policy related to this overstay allowance, especially in some Myanmar travel companies. The fee for a business eVisa is 70 US dollars, while the fee tourism eVisa is slightly lowler, 50 US dollars. Currently, there are 100 countries whose citizens are eligible for Myanmar eVisas.
The period of validity of visa in Myanmar is valid within one to three month. Therefore, you do not need to apply for your visa too early, as long as you always aware of your time validity. Instead, you can spend your time planning things to do in Myanmar. On the other hand, it is also not a good idea to apply your visa too late because it may require two weeks or more to process your application by the embassies and consulates. The period of time will vary in different countries. It must be longer in some not having embassy or consulate.
The list of eligible countries has been expanded twice. The first time was in October of 2014, and the second time is in January of 2015. In July of 2015, Myanmar first adapted issuing eVisa for business men. Foreigners who obtain Myanmar visa this way need to enter Myanmar from a particular port of entry which has been decided by the Burmese government. The list of entry ports include Yangon international airport, Naypyidaw airport, Mandalay international airport, Tachileik Land Border Checkpoint, Myawaddy Land Border Checkpoint and Kawthaung Land Border Checkpoint.
Besides the notes about visa policy, it is necessary for tourists to know about some to do list in Myanmar when entering the entry to this country. Your luggage will be checked carefully when you enter the entry of Myanmar. You are allowed to bring along only 200 cigarettes, a 1-liter bottle of wine and a half-a-liter bottle of perfume into Myanmar. You should be careful in case you bring along jewelry, electronics or film camera because they can be confiscated if you do not tell the checkers.
Unlike other Southeast Asian countries, shooting and filming is a sensitive problem in Myanmar, even in case you come for a Myanmar travel tour. This is one of the hardest troubles that many tourists have to cope with. You should avoid shooting or filming at some sensitive sites which relate to politics, medicine or security… in Myanmar. If you are caught shooting by the police and they force you to delete the images, it is better to delete them and apologize instead of running away or trying to persuade them because that action only causes you more troubles.
Moreover, it is also necessary to note down some basic things about the procedures when entering this country and enjoying Myanmar holidays. According to the current policy in this country, foreigners should always remember to bring about the original passport to complete the procedures at the border gate. For the best convenience, tourists should be present 2 hours earlier to the estimated time of departure. You have to declare the money amount you bring along carefully. If the money is foreign currency, the total amount you bring when leaving must not exceed the amount you bring when entering this country. The currency amount that you are allowed to carry along must never exceed 2,000 US dollars. Therefore, plan your trip carefully with specific what to do in Myanmar so you can manage the expenditure well. Besides, you can carry along any currency to Myanmar as long as you declare them in detail to the customs in case the amount exceed 200 US dollars. Furthermore, you are also not allowed to bring the Kyat currency out of the Burmese border.
In some border regions in Myanmar, since there are sensitive political situation versus the neighbor countries, the entry and exit across these borders are restricted. There are four border points that do not acquire permission for crossing except the case of Indian and Chinese arriving or departing.
For further instruction and guides, the Internet with various article will help you. However, it is necessary to realize the reliability of those articles so that you will not be misled and misunderstood. In order to obtain Myanmar visa easily, you should at least know clearly about the tips provided in the article. Hopefully this writing will be helpful for you and your trip to Myanmar to some extent. And enjoy your trip and work in the beautiful and attractive Myanmar.
