Myanmar opens e-visa website

YANGON Myanmar’s e-visa service is up and running, but it is limited for now for travel to just Yangon, the commercial capital.
Myanmar’s ministry of tourism claims the e-visa could help to bring 5 million tourists a year by 2015.
That is likely to happen with or without the e-visa, which still remains cumbersome and slow, although considerably more convenient than visiting an embassy or consultate. It takes five days for an email confirmation to be sent to the applicant that a visit has been approved.
The e-visa is open to tourists from 41 countries, including the United States and Britain , China, Japan and North Korea, Minister of Immigration and Population Khin Yi told reporters earlier this week.
The entry permit will cost USD50 and will be valid for 28 days for travellers arriving at Yangon’s international airport, he said, adding it will take five days to process.
“This is a special moment for our country… as the process improves, we will extend it — more countries will be added in the list,” he added.
Two years in the making, the scheme has cost impoverished Myanmar USD17 million but is a step towards wider e-government in a country whose technology lags its regional neighbours after decades of junta rule which stifled investment and the economy. Visitors can pay the USD50 fee for an e-visa using their Visa credit card. It is non-refundable even if the visa application is rejected.
During military rule tourists arrived in a trickle due to strict vetting by the regime or because they were deterred by international sanctions, which have since mainly been rolled back. Most journalists were banned.
But since Myanmar embarked on democratic reforms in 2011, tourists have started making a beeline for the country — long seen as an undiscovered frontier.
Two million overseas visitors arrived in 2013, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, with more expected this year, possibly 3 million at the present growth rate.
The Myanmar embassy in regional hub Bangkok is deluged daily with visa requests, leading to hours-long queues.
The country wants to build up the lucrative tourism market, with a new airport planned to cope the surging number of arrivals in Yangon.
Myanmar is targeting 5 million tourists next year with the e-visa a key part of the strategy, the minister said, adding the system has been backed-up to survive the electrical faults and frequent blackouts that afflict the country.

sourced:ttrweekly.com