Myanmar Visa for Indians – A Complete Guide

This guide to the Myanmar visa for Indians lists all the possible Myanmar tourist visa options for Indian citizens — Myanmar visa on arrival for Indians, Myanmar e visa for Indians, and the regular Myanmar travel visa from the Myanmar embassy in Delhi.

I had booked a flight to Guwahati and, then from there, I was to enter into Burma by land (always my preferable travel option) via the Moreh (Manipur)/Tamu (Myanmar) border.

But my Northeast India and overlanding into Burma plan was disheveled by the protests in Guwahati. Land travel was impossible under the given conditions, and I canceled my flight ticket and a stay in the Maujuli island, the disappearing land of the east.

As I booked a flight to Yangon, I decided to apply for a Myanmar online visa (evisa) to be assured instead of depending on a visa on arrival as the trip already seemed to be jinxed. Also, I didn’t want to wait in queue for long at the Yangon international airport.

RELATED READ: My complete guide to visas for Indian citizens

The various Myanmar Visa for Indians

Myanmar evisa for Indians (also known as Myanmar Online visa/Burma evisa/)

You don’t need to apply for the online Burma visa in advance as the visa process is fast.

I applied for the evisa on a Wednesday at 10 pm. My visa was confirmed the next day by about 12:30 pm. 

The single-entry visa was valid for 90 days and stay duration was 28 days — the day of entry and exit are counted as part of the duration of stay. 

Myanmar evisa application process

Myanmar visa application was quite simple. Here are the steps in detail. 

1. Visit the official visa website to apply for Myanmar visa online.

2. Choose the kind of visa you require — Myanmar Tourist visa, Myanmar express visa, and Myanmar Business visa.

Please note: Express visa is for people who need an urgent visa. Myanmar tourist express visa is received within 24 hours of application, and the service is functional even on weekends and public holidays. For a regular Burma tourist visa, you can apply via the Myanmar tourist visa option — this is the option I had chosen. 

A business visa is for people visiting Myanmar on work. 

3. Complete the Myanmar visa application form

You need to provide general information like passport details, contact details, personal information, the purpose of visit, the port of entry, an address in Myanmar (only hotels are allowed and no home addresses or residential addresses), etc. 

The allowed ports of entry with the evisa: 

1. Yangon international airport
2. Mandalay international airport 
3. Nay Pyi Taw international airport
4. Thai-Myanmar border crossing at Mae Sai/Tachileik, Mae Sot/Myawaddy and Ranong/Kawthaung
5. India-Myanmar border crossing at Moreh(Manipur)/Tamu(Myanmar, Sagaing) and Zokhawtar(Mizoram)/Rikhawdar (Chin State). 

Please note that Myanmar e-visa is not valid at Thailand Phunaron/Htee Kee border crossing.

Choose the appropriate port of entry in the Myanmar visa form.

4. Provide a passport-size color photo. 

Back in the days, I used to go to a photo studio to get a photo for all visa applications. But for Burma e visa application, I clicked a photo in front of a white background and edited it online as per the visa photo requirements. 

5. After the photo is uploaded, pay the Myanmar e visa cost of USD 50.  

As soon as your payment is confirmed, you would get an email that your visa application for Myanmar has been received.

The next email would contain your visa approval letter (if your visa is approved). The visa would be valid for 90 days, is single-entry, and you can only stay in Myanmar on this visa for 28 days (entry and exit included).

Please note: Even if you are entering from a different port as mentioned in the approval letter, the approval letter is still valid as a valid immigration document. Though the Myanmar official website suggests that you might be delayed at the border if the ports differ (see the image for more details), I didn’t find the officials enquiring if the port of entry was different from the one mentioned on the visa. 

Print the approval letter, your return ticket, and don’t forget to bring your passport. 

If you forget to print the return ticket prior to your journey (like yours truly), request the airline counter for a printout. 

At the Indian immigration center in Kolkata, the officer asked me why did I want to go to Myanmar. The immigration officer at Yangon airport didn’t ask me anything. She checked my visa and passport and stamped it. She neither checked the flight tickets nor asked me any questions.

Apply for Myanmar visa for about a week before traveling. The validity of the visa starts from the date it is approved to 90 days with a stay period of 28 days. 

Related Read: Visit the Inle Lake, Myanmar – One of the best things to do in the country

Myanmar visa on arrival for Indians

Indian citizens can get a Myanmar on arrival visa at Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw International Airports. The Myanmar visa fee for an on-arrival visa is USD 50. 

As per the official Malaysia immigration website, these are the Myanmar visa requirements— 

• A valid passport not expiring for at least 6 months from the date of entry into Myanmar.
• Two recent (4cm x 6cm) color photos taken within the past six months.
• The duration of stay cannot be extended.
• Travelers who enter through International Airport by Myanmar On Arrival visa (Tourist Visa) are allowed to exit through any one of the International entry/exit points.

Burma visa on arrival is valid for 30 days. 

Myanmar Tourist visa at the embassy

You can also apply for a regular tourist visa for Burma at the Myanmar embassy in India.

Go here to fill the online visa application form to apply for a Burma visa from India. 

Some necessary details of the visa process for Myanmar visa for Indian citizens — 

• Processing time — two working days. 
• Affix (2) recent photos of (1½ x 2) inches white color background.
• Passport should be at least six months valid (bring along a passport photocopy).
•  The Myanmar visa cost is about Rs 2800.

Embassy contact: myandelhi@gmail.com. 

Please note: Like all countries, I am sure the Myanmar visa policy has a provision for people who overstay the visa. You must have to pay some amount per day for the number of days you overstay within an allowed buffer period.
I would suggest not to use this option as the overstay leaves a bad impression of all Indian travelers who are already notorious for jumping immigration rules.

Myanmar is a beautiful country, and I have to go there again. But for now, you travel to Burma and tell me how did you like it.

Must Read: Don’t forget to ride the Yangon Circular Train when you land in Yangon – A Cultural experience in Burma

Would you love to go to Myanmar? Let me know if you have any questions about the Burma visa for Indians in the comments.