Myanmar visa requirements at Bangkok Embassy for Sri Lankan citizen

[Tomtomtom69]

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone knows whether the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok treats applicants from all countries the same, i.e. all you need to get a visa is a valid passport, a completed visa application form, a photograph and the money for the visa fee? A Sri Lankan friend of mine, who lives in China would like to travel to Myanmar and has found that even the poorest countries that let virtually everyone in either visa free or with a VOA option, such as Laos, treat Sri Lankans as a special case. The Lao Embassy in Bangkok can only issue Sri Lankans a visa if they reside in Thailand and they need to seek approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs first. Sri Lankans might also need to show evidence of round-trip or onward travel by air (bus travel might possibly be accepted, but maybe not) and may or may not be required to purchase a tour. All that just to visit Laos? Seems a bit insane. Vietnam is similar except if they go through a Vietnam visa-on-arrival agent, pay a much higher fee than applicants from most other countries and enter by air - if they obtain a multiple entry visa subsequent visits can be overland. This is a bit strange because getting a pre-approved visa on arrival for Vietnam allows Sri Lankans to bypass the stringent requirements to obtain a visa through a Vietnamese consulate or embassy.

I'm hoping Myanmar is not like that, but there is absolutely no information about this available online. Does anyone know?

[SeaVisionBurma]

Really difficult to say without first hand knowledge - ie if any Sri Lankan national has done this and can post on their experience.

Myanmar will be no different from most other embassies I imagine - ie that they WILL treat each country applicant differently depending on where they are from. This is just normal - some nationalities have an easier time than others.

As for Sri Lankan nationals, if you need to specifically have this question answered - the best suggestion is to go to the Myanmar Embassy and ask.

[Tomtomtom69]

Thanks for your response. Went to apply at the Embassy earlier today, no problems applying and it seems everyone is treated the same (which is unlike some other countries embassies as already mentioned). There was also a Sierra Leone citizen applying today so if his application was accepted, naturally a Sri Lankan citizen would also have his/her application accepted, so this was reassuring even before the application was handed in to the visa officer.

It seems that Myanmar is happy to have everyone come irrespective of nationality - you just need to fill out the application form, attach 2 photos and pay the visa fee. No other special requirements exist for Sri Lankans, or any other "difficult" nationality it seems. In the case of Laos, there is clear evidence of special requirements for some nationalities on their embassy/consulate websites but for Myanmar this is not the case - hence why it's clear to me now that Myanmar is mostly OK with anyone who wants to visit who isn't known to be a troublemaker, but I only had this confirmed to me today after we went to apply for the visa at the embassy.