Myanmar is a short hop from eastern India on the map, yet the paperwork is quite particular. The tourist eVisa is the only practical route for most Indians, and its upload screen wants proof of how you will leave. This guide quotes the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism's eVisa notice line by line, explains the entry-point restriction that catches people out, and gives a straight answer on whether a held flight reservation is enough for the "return ticket" field. Read the safety section too; parts of the country are off-limits to foreigners.
Myanmar eVisa key facts for 2026
| Question | Official answer |
|---|---|
| Can Indians get a tourist eVisa? | Yes. India is on the list of 100 countries whose ordinary passport holders may apply for the tourist visa online.[1] |
| Flight wording | "A proof of return ticket from Myanmar must be attached to the application." A trip plan is attached instead if you enter at Kawthaung land border.[1] |
| Length of stay | 28 days from the date of arrival. Single entry only.[1] |
| Approval letter validity | 90 days from the date of issue. If it has expired, entry will be denied.[1] |
| Processing | Minimum 3 working days (Myanmar time), counted from the acknowledgement email sent after payment.[1] |
| Where you can enter | Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw international airports, and Kawthaung land border checkpoint.[1] |
| Fee | Paid online by Visa, Mastercard or JCB and non-refundable.[1] The eVisa notice we read did not state the amount; the portal shows it before payment. |
| Visa on arrival for Indians? | No. The tourist visa on arrival is listed for Japan, South Korea, Macau and Hong Kong nationals only.[2] |
Who needs a visa for Myanmar?
Almost everyone from outside South-East Asia. Since 1 September 2022, ordinary passport holders of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines and Thailand can make tourist visits of up to 14 days without a visa, and Vietnam gets 30 days, as long as they enter and leave through Yangon, Mandalay or Nay Pyi Taw airports. Singapore citizens get 30 days and may use any international checkpoint.[1]
India is not on that exemption list. Indian citizens apply for the tourist eVisa through the government portal at evisa.moip.gov.mm.[3] The same applies to UK, US, Australian and most European passports, which are all on the eligible-country list.[1] British government travel advice puts it bluntly: you must have a visa to enter, you must get it before travelling, and you cannot obtain one on arrival.[4] That line is written for UK travellers, but the official visa-on-arrival page confirms the same picture for Indians.
A small group does get visas on arrival. Tourist visas on arrival were introduced for Hong Kong nationals from 11 March 2024 and for Japanese, South Korean and Macau nationals from 21 October 2025, each as a one-year trial, at 50 US dollars for a 30-day stay.[2] Trials can end, so travellers with those passports should re-read the page shortly before flying.
What does the eVisa notice ask you to upload?
The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism publishes an "Application Notice To Tourist For Applying eVisa". Here is the list, as written, with our comments:[1]
- Passport with at least six months' validity. Travel documents other than passports are not accepted, and an eVisa obtained on one will be refused at the checkpoint.
- One colour photo, 4.6 cm × 3.8 cm, taken within the last three months.
- A scan of your passport bio-data page.
- "A proof of return ticket from Myanmar", or a trip plan if you will enter overland at Kawthaung.
- Proof of a hotel booking or an on-boat stay. Tourists must stay in registered hotels, motels, inns, guest houses, resorts or on a boat.
- A Visa, Mastercard or JCB card for the online payment.
Children under seven who are on a parent's passport are entered in the minor section of the parent's form rather than applying separately.[1] Everyone else needs their own application.
Two details are easy to miss. The hotel rule is about registered accommodation: a friend's flat is not on the list. And the approval letter only lasts 90 days from issue, so applying too early can waste the fee if your plans slip.
Is a flight reservation enough for "proof of return ticket"?
This is the honest answer: the notice uses the word ticket, and we cannot confirm from any official page whether the eVisa team accepts an unpaid reservation in that slot. Myanmar does not publish guidance saying a booking is fine, and it does not say a paid fare is required either.
What we can tell you is how to think about it. The field is a proof-of-exit check. A genuine reservation shows an outbound flight from Myanmar, in your name, with a booking reference the officer can look up. A paid, refundable ticket shows the same, plus payment. If you want zero doubt in the upload, a refundable or changeable fare is the cleaner choice. If you are comfortable that the field is about your plan rather than your payment, a verifiable reservation is the lower-cost option. Either way, it has to be real.
Where we'd draw the line: by the time you queue at the airport and at immigration, a paid return or onward fare belongs in your bag. A held reservation may not satisfy wording that says "ticket", and by travel day the visa stage is over. Never upload an edited or invented document; the notice says entry can be refused, and a false document is far worse than a refusal.
If you go the reservation route, make the dates match the hotel booking and stay inside 28 days. Say you land in Yangon on 6 January: a return on 2 February would be 28 days counting the arrival day, which is too close for comfort. We'd plan to leave by 1 February and keep a day of margin.
Which airports and borders accept the eVisa?
This is the rule that trips up overlanders. The eVisa currently works only at four places: Yangon International Airport, Mandalay International Airport, Nay Pyi Taw International Airport and Kawthaung International Land Border Checkpoint.[1] You cannot use it to arrive by cruise ship or at a seaport; cruise passengers have to arrange a visa on arrival through their tour agent.
| How you arrive | Does the tourist eVisa work? | Exit proof to upload |
|---|---|---|
| Flight into Yangon | Yes | Return or onward flight from Myanmar |
| Flight into Mandalay | Yes | Return or onward flight from Myanmar |
| Flight into Nay Pyi Taw | Yes | Return or onward flight from Myanmar |
| Overland at Kawthaung (from Ranong, Thailand) | Yes | A trip plan instead of a return ticket |
| Cruise ship or other seaport | No | Pre-arranged visa on arrival through a tour agent |
| Other land borders | Not listed for eVisa entry | Ask a Myanmar embassy before planning |
Exits are less restricted on paper for visa-on-arrival travellers, who "may exit at any international airport".[2] The eVisa notice does not spell out exit points, so we'd plan to leave through one of the same international airports you could enter by.
How to apply for the Myanmar eVisa, step by step
- Check the advice first. Read your government's travel advisory and the restricted-areas information linked from the eVisa notice. Decide your route only after that.
- Book registered accommodation for every night, or a boat stay if that is your plan.
- Arrange your exit proof. A return or onward flight from one of the international airports, with dates inside 28 days.
- Prepare the scans. Bio page, a 4.6 × 3.8 cm colour photo under three months old, the hotel proof and the flight document, all clear and readable.
- Apply on evisa.moip.gov.mm. Fill in the form exactly as your passport reads. Add any child under seven in the minor section.
- Pay by Visa, Mastercard or JCB. Look for the acknowledgement email; the notice says it should arrive within an hour.
- Wait at least three working days, Myanmar time, from that email.
- Print the approval letter and travel within 90 days of issue.
Keep the payment receipt and acknowledgement email. The service is non-refundable, so if anything about your plans is uncertain, sort it before you pay.
How do Indians usually reach Myanmar?
By air into Yangon or Mandalay in most cases. Some journeys use a connection through a regional hub such as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore; if yours does, check the transit rules for that hub on an Indian passport, especially if you need to collect bags and re-check them. Our guides to Thailand, Malaysia and transit visas go into that.
The land routes from India's north-east are a different matter. Myanmar's eVisa notice lists Kawthaung, on the Thai side of the country, as the only land checkpoint for eVisa entry. It does not list any crossing from India. If you were hoping to drive or bus across from Manipur or Mizoram on a tourist eVisa, the published rules do not support it.
Safety and restricted areas
We would be doing you a disservice if we skipped this. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of Myanmar and against all but essential travel to others.[4] Myanmar's own eVisa notice says there are restricted areas for foreigners and points travellers to the immigration ministry's restricted-area information.[1] Indian travellers should also check the latest advisory from India's Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Yangon.
The visa on arrival page adds a line worth noting even for eVisa holders: if security forces or authorities do not permit entry, or the traveller is on the immigration blacklist, entry will be refused and the passenger deported.[2] The eVisa notice puts it more gently: if entry is not allowed, "you may return by the same flight".[1] A visa is permission to present yourself at the border, not a promise of entry.
What happens at check-in and on arrival?
At check-in in India or at your hub, airline staff will want to see the printed eVisa approval letter and your passport. They are checking that you are likely to be admitted, since an airline that carries a refused passenger generally has to take them back. A return ticket out of Myanmar is the most natural thing for them to ask about next.
On arrival, immigration checks that the approval letter is still within its 90-day window, that you are entering at an allowed port, and that the passport matches the one you applied with. Your stay counts from the arrival date, and the eVisa is single entry, so a side trip to Thailand and back means a new visa.[1]
Myanmar also restricts large amounts of cash: UK travel advice says amounts over 10,000 US dollars or equivalent must be declared on arrival.[4]
Reservation, refundable fare or cheap ticket: which suits you?
| Option | Fits the eVisa upload? | Fits check-in and arrival? | Cost if plans change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verifiable flight reservation | Shows the return plan; Myanmar has not said whether it accepts an unpaid booking | No, carry a paid ticket when you travel | Small fixed fee |
| Refundable or flexible fare | Yes, it is a ticket | Yes | Depends on fare rules and refund fees |
| Cheapest non-refundable fare | Yes | Yes | Lost if the visa is refused or dates move |
| Trip plan (Kawthaung only) | Yes, for that border | Carry onward travel proof anyway | None |
Our view: if you have firm dates and a card that can absorb a refundable fare, buy the refundable fare and upload that. If dates are still moving, a genuine reservation lets you apply without locking in a fare, but go in knowing the wording says "ticket". Then buy the real ticket as soon as the approval letter arrives.
If you upload a reservation, what should it show?
- Departure from Myanmar, from Yangon, Mandalay or Nay Pyi Taw, within 28 days of arrival.
- Your name spelt as in the passport you used on the eVisa form.
- Dates consistent with the hotel booking. The last night in the hotel and the flight out should line up.
- A PNR you have tested on the carrier's "Manage booking" screen before uploading. Our walkthrough on checking a reservation before you submit shows how.
Book it close to the day you apply. A reservation from us remains live for up to two weeks (the carrier fixes the precise hold), and Myanmar needs three working days at minimum, so booking weeks ahead gains nothing.
Getting a reservation for your Myanmar application
If you decide a reservation suits your situation, we hold a seat under a live PNR in the passenger names you enter, on the route and dates you choose. The airline's own site will show it. It has not been paid for as a fare and cannot be used to travel.
One price per traveller, for a single leg or a round trip; routes with several stops cost per pair of legs (full price list). Expect the PDF in your inbox in roughly ten minutes. Pay via Razorpay with UPI, a card or netbanking, and track progress at /track.html. For the hotel side, we also provide a hotel reservation priced per stay for each traveller, though Myanmar wants registered accommodation, so make sure the property is real and you intend to use it.
Applying for a Myanmar eVisa?
Verifiable reservation in your name in about 10 minutes. ₹699 / $9 each.
More background: how reservations for visas work, onward tickets, country-by-country requirements, and, for Europe, the Schengen guide. Or begin at our home page.
Myanmar eVisa: frequently asked questions
Can Indians get a Myanmar visa on arrival?
No. Myanmar's visa-on-arrival page lists tourist visas on arrival only for Japanese, South Korean, Macau and Hong Kong nationals, on trial periods. Indian citizens should apply for the tourist eVisa online before travelling and print the approval letter. Indian nationals are also not on the visa-exemption list, which covers several ASEAN countries and Singapore.
Does the Myanmar eVisa need a confirmed return ticket?
The official notice says proof of a return ticket from Myanmar must be attached, except for Kawthaung land arrivals, which attach a trip plan. It does not say whether an unpaid reservation is accepted. A refundable fare removes doubt. A genuine reservation shows your exit plan at lower cost. At check-in and arrival, carry a paid ticket.
How long can I stay in Myanmar on an eVisa?
Up to 28 days from the date you arrive, on a single entry. The approval letter itself must be used within 90 days of the date it was issued, or entry will be denied. Leaving and coming back, even for a day trip across a border, needs a new visa. Plan your exit flight with a day or two of margin.
Can I enter Myanmar from India by land on an eVisa?
The eVisa notice lists only three international airports and the Kawthaung land checkpoint, which faces Ranong in Thailand. No crossing from India appears on that list. If you need to cross from Manipur or Mizoram, contact a Myanmar embassy first, and check Indian government advisories for those border areas.
How long does the Myanmar eVisa take?
The official notice gives a minimum of three working days, Myanmar time, for a normal tourist visa. The clock starts when the acknowledgement email is sent after you submit and pay, which should be within an hour. Weekends and Myanmar public holidays do not count. We'd apply at least two weeks before departure.
Is the Myanmar eVisa fee refundable if I'm refused?
No. The notice states the eVisa service is non-refundable. That is a good reason to check your passport validity, photo size, hotel proof and exit flight carefully before paying. It is also a reason not to apply months early, since the approval letter expires 90 days after issue.
Is it safe to travel to Myanmar now?
Parts of the country carry serious risk. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to some areas and all but essential travel to others, and Myanmar restricts foreigners from certain regions. Read India's Ministry of External Affairs advisories and your embassy's notices before booking anything non-refundable, and keep your plans to permitted areas.
Sources
All sources last checked: October 2026.
- Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, Myanmar, eVisa: Application Notice To Tourist For Applying eVisa (includes visa exemption list and eligible countries).
- Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, Myanmar, Visa on Arrival.
- Ministry of Immigration and Population, Myanmar, Myanmar eVisa (official government portal).
- GOV.UK, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Myanmar (Burma) travel advice: entry requirements.
Related: Brunei visa · Macau entry · Mongolia e-visa · Thailand onward ticket.