50 dollars buys Myanmar tourist VOA for 4 nationalities under trial extension

Myanmar has folded Japan and South Korea into its $50 tourist visa-on-arrival program, joining China and India under a one-year trial that runs through Oct. 21, 2026.

What changed and when

Japanese, South Korean and Macao SAR passport holders became eligible for tourist VOA on Oct. 21, 2025, per the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. Before that date, tourists from those markets needed a pre-arranged eVisa or embassy-issued visa to enter Myanmar for leisure travel.

Chinese and Indian tourists have been able to use the same VOA channel since the pilot launched Aug. 30, 2023 and the extension has been rolled forward again to cover Aug. 30, 2025 through Aug. 29, 2026, according to the Myanmar embassy in Brasília. Hong Kong SAR passport holders got their own one-year trial from March 11, 2025 to March 10, 2026.

All four groups now sit under identical mechanics: arrival by air only, through Yangon, Mandalay or Nay Pyi Taw international airports.

The rules travelers actually face

The tourist VOA is narrower than most nomads assume. It covers sightseeing, nothing else.

• Fee: $50 per person, payable on arrival
• Stay: up to 30 days, no extensions permitted
• Passport validity: at least 6 months on arrival or the traveler is refused entry and put on the return flight
• Documents: completed VOA form (free at the airport) and two color photos, roughly 4 cm x 6 cm
• Entry points: Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw airports only, no land borders

There's no work authorization attached. Remote work, paid engagements or residency use will breach the terms and anyone planning a longer stay in Myanmar needs to line up a business visa or long-stay category before flying in.

Who needs to act

Japanese and South Korean travelers who already booked winter or spring trips on the assumption of needing an eVisa can drop that step and pay at the airport instead, though carrying $50 in clean US dollars matters: Myanmar's cash-only VOA counters have historically rejected worn or marked bills.

Business travelers from any of the four countries shouldn't use the tourist VOA as a shortcut. The business VOA runs 70 days at $50 and is the correct channel for meetings, workshops or short work trips, per the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Using the tourist stream for business purposes risks denial of entry or trouble on a future application.

Anyone weighing a longer scouting trip should read the fine print in Myanmar's entry and stay rules before booking, since the 30-day cap with no extension leaves no room to stretch a visit once the clock starts.

Clarification, Oct. 2, 2026: This article was reformatted to fix a display error that showed its raw source text. Its reporting is unchanged.