Myanmar has received US$69.2 million as revenue from e-Visa and over 1.75 million of tourists and business travellers applied for e-Visa, according to the report issued by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.
Myanmar is granting ordinary passport holders from 100 countries and China (Taipei) e-Visas for tourist purposes and from 54 countries and China (Taipei) e-Visas for business.
The Ministry’s data showed that revenue from e-Visa stood at $10.8 million from 289,205 foreign nationals in 2016, $14.3 million from 377,310 in 2017, $16.3 million from 417,523 in 2018, $21.5 million from 531,998 in 2019 and $6.3 million from 138,277 as of August, 2020.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, e-Visa service was temporarily suspended from 20 March 2020 and 30 November 2020 so far, according to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population.
Visa processing fees are set $50 for a tourist visa, $56 for tourist visa express and $70 for a business visa. The tourist visa is valid for 28 days, while the business visa is valid for 70 days.
Passengers with e-Visa can enter the country through the Yangon International Airport, Mandalay International Airport and Nay Pyi Taw International Airport, and the Tachilek, Myawady and Kawthoung land borders with Thailand, and Tamu and Reedhorda land borders with India.
The e-Visa scheme was launched in 2014 to facilitate visa processing for the foreign nationals who want to come to Myanmar. For more details, people can visit www.evisa.moip.gov.mm.
Additionally, Myanmar has allowed citizens from 13 countries for Visa on Arrival starting from 1 October 2018. A total of 21.785 million of arrivals from China, Germany, India, Italy, Australia, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Czech, Austria, Hungary, New Zealand and Luxembourg were recorded, and Visa on Arrival scheme generated revenue of $71.52 million so far, the ministry’s data indicated.
Myanmar has extended the preliminary trial for granting visa exemptions to ordinary passport holders from Japan, the Republic of Korea, Macau SAR, and Hong Kong SAR until 30 November. Thus, visitors from the four countries do not need to apply for a tourist visa for visits of up to 30 days, and they can enter and depart from all international checkpoints.
As of August 2020, 116,114 Japanese, 130,460 Korean, 42,926 nationals from Macau SAR and 6,078 from Hong Kong SAR entered the country with visa exemption status.
According to the ministry, Myanmar received 3.44 million international visitors in 2017, an uptick of 18% compared to 2016, with 2.5 million registered. In 2018, the international arrivals rose to 4.5 million in 2018 and slightly dipped to 4.36 million in 2019. This year, 862,676 visitors have entered the country as of August 2020.
The foreign nationals entered the country through international airports, land borders and seaports.
Package tours, caravan tours, yacht tours, and riverine tours along the Ayeyawady and Chindwin rivers, and cruises and chartered flights require permission from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, which is sought through local tour agencies. —Ko Htet
(Translated by Ei Myat Mon)
