Getting a Myanmar Visa In Bangkok

I'm designing this post for anyone who needs this information as much as we did this week and has asked this question via their web browser. Our background is this: last November Mike and I agreed to book cheap deal flights from BKK to Yangon even though there was no guarantee we could get into the country because visa on arrival had been suspended since September 2009. I telephoned the Myanmar Embassy in the UK. They told me that we could download the required visa application form from the Myanmar Embassy in Canberra (of course, so obvious when you think of it!). On top of that, processing the application would cost around £14 and take two weeks; please include a self addressed envelope. Now, bear in mind that we'd had to wait a week to get our passports back from the Vietnamese embassy: that brought us to the first week in December. Add to that the snow that was paralysing England that month. Plus the general state of the postal service two weeks before Christmas. Plus the general attitude of the Trade Unions in the UK at the moment. We decided that it was unlikely we'd get our Myanmar visas, not to mention the passports themselves and all the other visas therein, back before we left for Thailand on Jan 4. So we didn't send them off. (Turns out we were right because the several documents I was depending on receiving, such as a replacement credit card, didn't arrive either)!

Jump now to the advice I am offering to others who decided to wait until they get to Thailand to get their Myanmar visas. First, the advice I got from this web site written in 2007 is spot on: its got all the directions you need to find the place. Read this first before continuing. From our experiences yesterday, I would also recommend the following (but bear in mind things can change):

1.      Preparation. If you want to get ahead of the game, complete all the forms before you get to the embassy. There is a little photocopy shop 200m down the road from the entrance to the embassy. They will give you a visa application form (similar in content to the Canberra one) and another form describing your last three jobs. You also need a photocopy of your passport picture and personal details. You’ll need two passport-approved pictures. Stick one on the application form and use a paperclip to attach the second picture next to it. Now you’re ready.

2.      Get there early. We arrived just before 0900 when the visa office opens. There were already 50 people in line. Inside, you’ll see 4 windows. Queue up immediately at #4 clutching your paperwork. This is a “pre-sort” queue that everyone has to use. If you’ve done everything in 1 above you will get a plastic card with a number on it. If you are ill-prepared, you get told what’s missing and sent away or to the back of the queue. If you have a number, go and sit down somewhere.

3.      The number counter on the wall tells you when to go back to the window with your paperwork. We were destined to go to window #2 (window#3 was for Thai passports only and window #1 was for business visas and tour operators or agents). This took around two hours but I gather it was a quiet day being a Wednesday. Surrender your passports and paperwork.

4.      At this point you may be questioned about your travel arrangements, your hotel, or your personal and professional history (see link above). We were told to come back on Friday at 1530. We argued that we were out of Bangkok until our departure flight date (about three weeks away) and asked for express process of our application. The officer wasn’t too happy but relented. We then paid 810 Baht each for the visa plus another 450 Baht each for the express service. (NB: they are not accepting US$ as far as we could see!) He gave us a paper receipt that had our names, how much we'd paid, and the date and time to return. He told us to come back between 1530 and 1630 that day. We left at 1100.

5.      We arrive early that afternoon at 1500 hours. A lot of people were already there. By some unspoken agreement everyone got up at 1510 and made a disorderly queue at window #4 (agents and tour operators queued at window #1, which makes sense as they were processing thick sheaves of passports). By 1525 we were about sixth in the queue that stretched right around the room. Unexpectedly, window#2 opened and a voice shouted “Express visas!”, and Lo! we were second in a new queue. By 1530 we had our passports and visas. (NB: the visa is only in operation for a month from the date you receive it; i.e. don’t get one if you are planning to fly to Myanmar in more than 30 days time. The duration of the visa is also one month.)

That’s it. If you discount the preparation work; all done in a day. If anyone outside our regular blog readers gets to this page because of Google searches I hope this is of some use. Certainly, the link I’ve made above helped us avoid some disasters. Back to normal next post.