Burma Travel Answers

Perhaps you should've looked into a rush visa or looked into paying extra for a rush service? Also - I don't know if it will help you now, there was a way to do it pre-arranged for VOA (Visa on Arrival) with application on line. You will have to contact the consulate or Myanmar embassy. Is there one near where you live? It is important that you have passport in hand, unfortunately, as busy as the offices are there is little you can do other than to unfortunately, sweat it out. I wish you good luck and sincerely hope you get your visa back on time. You still have 14 days so you might be ok. Homer

Unfortunately, the application I filled out did not state that rush processing was available. It said that it would take, "approx. 10 days for processing." I did see the visa on arrival form, but it was so different than the one I filled out for the Myanmar embassy in D.C. that I was not sure if it was official or not. I live in California so I do not have the ability to go to the embassy unless I buy a roundtrip flight there, and I do not intend to do that. I called earlier today and left them a message. I plan on calling them everyday until my flight and if it comes down to it I will ask for the passport to be sent back. I did include an overnight shipping envelope. Furthermore, my friend's parents are extremely wealthy Burmese citizens and if I can bug them then they might help. That is unlikely though, Any other ideas? Thank you both so much for the responses.

You can call them everyday, but it really is up to them if they'll do for you. Very hard to say as you are dealing with bureaucracy. Even if you fly all the way there you may still get the same result. Good luck!

Without a passport you are stuck in USA regardless. Most passport that are sent in for VISA are checked for your dates of arrival, so they already know. If from the passport office, they usually send the Passport a week before my departure sometimes. I your case, most likely it will come before the week you leave.. You should not have waited so long before you apply for the VISA. Best to call the office that you sent the passport to and talk to someone with authority to be sure they process the VISA in time and get your passport back. Tourist VISA to Burma should have been easier to obtain in Asian countries. I let a travel agency take care of my VISA when I went to Burma. Cost me three usd dollars and the VISA fee. Good Luck cheers tommy x

You got to try calling them again and again, and once they are online with you, ask them if you can pay urgent processing fee to get your passport returned to you asap.

Update I called the embassy every day since they received my passport. I am assuming that they have one person on the phones since the same girl picked up each time. She informed me that I should email mewdcusa@yahoo.com and state that I needed the passport expedited. Well, up until yesterday they had not expedited the passport. I then asked for my passport to be sent home so I could catch my first flight on Monday. She obliged, and when I received the passport today it had the visa! It was 2 hours before closing time when I talked to her so I am assuming that she took it herself and told them to give me the visa! It looks like I will be going to Burma after all. I will be in Yangon on June 22nd! Thank you all so much for your words of wisdom. Cheers, Cris

I was so worry about your VISA coming in on time. I am happy to know that you finally got it and can go forward with your trip. I think that when you get to Burma to enjoy the beauty and the culture, make sure to visit the temples and thank the Buddah jus in case he had a hand in getting your VISA process. lol cheers tommy x enjoy your journey

Really glad that you have it sorted out! Burma is a beautiful country. I'm sure you'll have a great time there. Enjoy your trip!

bring back lots of pictures, and remember internet is limited in Burma. cheers tommy x