The Ministry of Immigration and Population (MIP) will let local company’s vie for the implementation rights to Myanmar’s electronic visa application system (E-Visa), which aims to manage the increased inflow of tourists and businesspeople seeking entry into the country.
Details about the criteria companies have to fulfill to meet the government’s prerequisites for the role are available at the Department of Immigration and National Registration.
Authorities have long planed to implement the E-Visa system, used around the world, to ease the regulation requirements that determine the entry and exit of foreigners in and out of Myanmar.
Local technology companies with official overseas backgrounds will have preference in the MIP’s decision-making process, which ends July 16, according to the Department of Immigration and National Registration.
However, Union of Myanmar Travel Association Secretary U Naung Naung Han said the country’s internet speed must be upgraded before the E-Visa system can be installed.
“E-Visa is an online service which could double the number of foreign entries into Myanmar,” U Naung Naung Han, said.
The E-Visa will let applicants from countries without a Myanmar embassy, or those living far away from the country’s consulate, to be notified online if and when their visa is approved.
Currently, foreigners who submit visa applications have to wait more than a week for their requests to be processed, and fees can vary according to an applicant’s country of origin and visa type.
Authorities hope the E-Visa system can reduce this waiting period to three days and eliminate any need for travellers to go to one of Myanmar’s embassies.
Two years ago the government assigned the Department of Immigration and National Registration to manage the implementation ofthe E-Visa system under the guidance of the MIP.
The Ministry of Hotel and Tourism led calls to the government for the electronic visa application system to be implemented dating back to 2011.
