The Myanmar visa gate isn’t marked, which can be a hassle to identify
Visa requirements to visit Myanmar change on a regular basis and it’s best to check with the Myanmar Embassy in your country before making your travel plans. The safest approach is to assume you will need one. If there is no Myanmar Embassy in your country, both Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Bangkok (Thailand) are good places where you can drop by for a quick visit and get your Myanmar visa before flying off. A recent article in a blog has updated information regarding applying for a Myanmar tourist visa in Kuala Lumpur.
Getting There
The Myanmar Embassy is at 8C Jalan Ampang Hilir 55000
Tel: 603 425 15595
Ampang Park LRT. There are two exits which bring you up on the two different sides of the road (Jalan Ampang). The exit on the left as you come up the escalators brings you out on the correct (South) side of the road, but it doesn’t really make that much difference.
Head East along Jalan Ampang (hint, the sun rises in the East). You should pass a big McDonalds on the left and then cross over the 6 lane Jalan Tun Razak. Keep going East for about ten minutes walk, past the Embassies for China on the right; France, Spain and Thailand on the left, until you go under an elevated pedestian bridge, then past a crazy steakhouse on the right (Victoria Station) (it has a train sticking out the side of it). 50m after the Steakhouse, turn right just after residential towerblock, Lanson Place.
Walk 200m to the roundabout, take the first (left) exit from it and the Myanmar Embassy is the first gate on the left. The visa gate isn’t marked and is a bit of a melee. If you reach the sign for the embassy, you’ve gone to far. Inside the gates, tourist visas are processed on the right side. Residents join the massive crowd on the left. Ask for an application form at the window. There are different forms depending on what you are applying for.
Requirements
- passport (with 6 months validity, IIRC
- two passport photos (for me they just took a scan of the photo; embedded the image on the visa printout and gave me back one of the photos when I collected the visa),
- copy of the data page of your passport on A4 paper
- cash in MYR
- If you are going for the express service (2 working days), you have to supply flight printouts (tickets/itineries); but that seems to be just to support the urgency of your request – ordinary turnaround timers don’t need to show flight info.
Flight tickets only needed for express service.
Hours
Application 0930-1230; Collection 1600-1700. The collection date and time is noted on your receipt.
Turnaround Time
They say five working days for standard, but mine was Tuesday morning to Friday afternoon (Nov 2011). The sign for the Express service says 2 working days. Some people ahead of me were pushing for a next day turnaround, as they had flights booked for the day after. Their application was accepted, but they had to have the tickets as proof of the urgency. I don’t know the outcome, but I wouldn’t risk cutting it that fine, myself.
Price
80MYR for standard (5 working days); 150 for express (2 working days)
Form
Pretty straightforward. Ask for it at the window as there are different forms for the different types of visa on offer. Don’t put your occupation as a journalist, especially if you aren’t one.
Other
There doesn’t seem to be any photocopying facilites or photo-booths in the immediate area. I have read that you can get pictures taken at the KL Convention Centre (KLCC) about 2km West of the Embassy. The visa-clock starts ticking when you enter Myanmar. You get 28 days. You have to enter Myanmar within 3 months of getting the visa, otherwise it expires.
Alex Beaudin says:
February 16, 2012 at 5:10 am
Thanks for these info, really accurate. I would just add that beside that crazy steakhouse with the train sticking out, there is now a photo place where you can get six passport photos for 15rm and also get your passport photocopy there. It takes about 10 minutes. ALso when I got to the embassy, there was a huge melee of residents in front of it, but I just walked in right away because i was there for a visa.
Thanks for these info, really accurate. I would just add that beside that crazy steakhouse with the train sticking out, there is now a photo place where you can get six passport photos for 15rm and also get your passport photocopy there. It takes about 10 minutes. ALso when I got to the embassy, there was a huge melee of residents in front of it, but I just walked in right away because i was there for a visa.