London Travel Answers

Here's the Post Office pdf of postal rates within and outside the UK: royalmail.com/sites/default/... Or you can download it here: http://www.royalmail.com/prices-2012 All depends on how much your envelope weighs. I think you should take it to be weighed a Post Office to be sure. Putting too much on (i.e. £2 stamps when it only costs £1.81) is ok.

Actually someone in Northern Ireland got it weighed in a British post office up there and then sent me the UK stamps. I am just worried because £2 dosen't seem like very much and my the visa and my passport are rather important to me. :-) I suppose it's OK. Thanks Leics.

With something as valuable as a passport, I would take it to the Post Office and send it by recorded delivery, this means the person it's addressed to has to sign for it, and there will be a record of the delivery, and cash compensation if the item is lost. You can still affix your 2x £1 stamps to the envelope and £2 will be deducted to the final amount payable. You will be issued with a receipt for the transaction, take good care of it, until your passport returns to you. I have had too many items going missing over the years by Royal Mail, there was a case recently here near Glasgow, when a postman was jailed for storing mail in his house, because he was too lazy to deliver it, an isolated case perhaps, but do you want to take a chance with your precious passport? Benny.

I agree. I would never send a passport by ordinary mail. I'd use 'recorded signed for': postoffice.co.uk/recorded-si... or, if it's essential that you get speedy delivery about which you are 100% certain, 'special delivery': postoffice.co.uk/special-del... Both will cost you more than £2 though.

I had intended sending it by registered post Benny. Getting it back is another thing though. I'm in a different country so I don't really think there is a way of registering the return. I doubt if the Embassy would do it for me. Thanks Benny.

Thanks Leics, I sent my passport to embassies before. They were in Dublin though. It arrived back safely even in an ordinary envelope. Although I have to admit I spent weeks worrying while I was waiting!

Is there not a Burmese Embassy in London? if so, why send the visa application to Eire. In all the travels, in all the world I used to do, I sent my passport to embassies in London, is there not even a Burmese Consulate there. Sometimes it used to be easier to obtain a visa in the capital city of the nearest country to the one requiring a visa e.g. for Afghanistan, I used to get my visa in Tehran, Iran, it was much less hassle than dealing with the Afghan Embassy in London, and the visa was a lot cheaper too. Benny.

There's an embassy in London but I am in Ireland! There's no Burmese embassy in Ireland!

I just Googled the question....... Embassy of the Republic and Union of Myanmar, 19A Charles Street, London. Burma is now called Myanmar.

I am aware of that! :-)

Ah so, everything is clear now, after multiple confusion, you must be in Northern Ireland clutching your 2x £1 stamps. So sending the passport recorded delivery in one direction, at least reduces the risk by fifty percent, You can be sure the Myanmar embassy won't pay for the return recorded delivery. When I used to travel in that part of the world, I had to fly from Calcutta to Bangkok, and the same return, it was impossible to obtain visas for Burma, the country was deemed too dangerous for tourists, largely dominated by warlords, jealously guarding their opium poppy empires, maybe some of these dodgy characters are still around, so take care......... Benny.

I am sure the poster is not in Northern Ireland.The way I read it he wants to send from London to ROI

I know John (Fridgemagnet) lives in the Republic and he is clutching UK stamps sent from a friend in N Ireland who worked out the potential cost. I think that's right? So, as far as I can see, the only option is to use the £2 stamps and keep all bits crossed for safe arrival of passport-with-visa.

That is correct Raymond. I am in Waterford in the Republic of Ireland. I intend to sent my passport to the Myanma London Embassy by recorded post and include a stamped addressed envelope so they can sent it back to me.

That's correct Leics. And that seems to be the only way!

you should look for secure envelope, do not know what is call there but here in France when I need to renew my US passport i use a chronopost envelope that has a tracking number and delivery guarantee. do not send passport with regular post with just a stamp for weight on them. Just an advise. cheers

The problem is that John lives in the Republic of Ireland, and the passport and visa must be returned from the UK by the Myanmar Embassy. There are of course ways of sending envelopes securely from the UK. But John cannot do that for a stamped addressed envelope which will be sent by the Myanmar embassy back to his address. I can't see any way round this, I'm afraid. The main thing to be 100% certain about is that £2 will definitely be enough for the US >ROI postage (you might consider using a padded envelope, if allowed, which will at least make the contents a little less obvious?). Then cross all relevant bits...

Thank you for explaining that to people Leics. Thank you to everyone for your help.

Look up the following website, www.postoffice.co.uk/recorded-signed-for Recorded delivery costs 95pence plus first or second class stamp, plus additional weighting, but compensation is limited to £46, my passport cost £72 at the last renewal. See if the website link gives any help. Benny.

I can see the problem here. Just as a suggestion, would it be possible to use your Northern Ireland friends address. That would be in UK and so recordable woth the Post Office. Yes, it will give you the hassle of having to meet somewhere or whatever or alternatively (s)he could probably courier it to you in Waterford. Time consuming certainly but feasible. I believe the courier companies have schemes for "registering" important deliveries. I do hope you get it sorted, Burma is such a wonderful country. another idea springs to mind. Were you intending to go straight to Burma? If you have a few days in Bangkok, which is the normal jumping off point, you can get one in the Burmese Embassy there. If memory serves it used to be three days but check that. Just a couple of suggestions and I hope they assist, fergy.

I'm not sure how that would work Fergy. It would still only be recorded going to the embassy right? The embassy wouldn't record it when sending it back? I am actually going via Bangkok and had intended spending a couple of days there on my way home. Would really prefer to have my visa in advance though.

No, I probably didn't explain it well. I mean use your friend as a "middleman". Get your ppt and application to him / her some way, use their NI address to post to London and have it returned there and then forwarded to you by whatever means in Waterford. Sorry if I was not making much sense, situation normal. It will be time consuming but other than a personal visit to London (I know you have to leave your ppt for three days there, I have done it) I can see no other way round.

I can send it registered (or recorded) post from here to Britain though. The Irish post office does international registered post. It is only the return that is a worry.

The problem you have is that if you use your genuine ROI address I do not know what provisions the Burmese Embassy have for returning outside the UK. I have not looked at their website recently, do they have any mention of it there?

Their website is not working! It was a few months but it seems to be offline for a while now. I read people discussing it on another site.

Sounds about right. I really am at a loss to think of anything else to suggest except swallow a few days in BKK before you go and, let's be honest, that is no hardship. he only other alternative seems a personal trip to London. Sorry mate, I really am trying to think my way round this but I am out of ideas now.

I think you can get a visa in one day in Bangkok if you pay extra. Seemingly they want a good reason though as well though.

I would advise getting the visa in Bangkok, it takes two days, but if you pay a little extra this time frame could be accelerated, the cost is 810 Baht, address....... Embassy of Myanmar, 132 Sathon Nuea Road, Sathon, Bangkok 10120 Thailand, phone +66 2 234 278 I arrived at this info by Googling "address of Myanmar Embassy, Bangkok, Thailand," it even brings up a map to find the location. I never had any problems applying for visas in the next-door country to which I was going next, all over the middle east and far east, in fact it was the only way for return overland travel, visas were only issued for entry and exit and a new one had to be obtained for re-entry. Besides, Bangkok is beautiful and so are the women, book into the Thai Song Greet Hotel next to the main railway station, Hualampong and see what happens next! Benny.

Well, I would think that the good reason is that you explain you do not now live in UK, therefore cannot get to London for a personal application. Explain that you would have gone to the embassy in Dublin if they had had one. Do the normal SE Asia thing, be very polite, don't raise your voice, be very patient and never, ever lose your temper. That is seen as bad form. Honestly, if you decide to go that way, I do not see a problem. If you explain, as you have done here, what your problems are, you should be OK, I would think. Don't forget, Burma is changing rapidly and they are keen to encourage tourism (well, they always were but people were wary about coming there) and I don't see them giving you a hard time about it. I am sorry my info is so out of date and I hope that some members in the region currently will be able to give you some further info on it. Really, it is worth persevering with. Burma remains one of my favourite places ever, you will love it.

I will think about it some more! Thanks all for your help.