Myanmar Border Crossings

Good to know…

1. Your passport must be valid 6 months beyond your trip in Myanmar.
2. You must obtain Myanmar Visa in your passport prior to your arrival at the border port, the border port currently cannot handle e Visas and on-arrival Visas.
3. Those who enter/ depart from the aforementioned International entrances/ exits will be permitted to enter/depart from any International entrances / exits of Myanmar; Nay Pyi Taw International Airport, Yangon International Airport, Mandalay International Airport, Tachileik, Myawaddy, Htee Kee and Kawthaung.
4. The Visitors are permitted to travel everywhere except the restricted areas designated by the Ministry of Home Affair in its Notification 77/2013 issued on 15-1-2013 ( The list of restricted areas is available at border entrances / exits ). See the list of permitted area for travellers in Myanmar.
5. Vehicular crossing requires MTT permission for both vehicles and travellers, Road Transport Authority permission, the accompany of a MTT Liaison officer and a licensed tour guide throughout the trip and a support vehicle to carry them unless clients have two spare seats on their vehicles.

 

Myanmar Border Crossing Services

We services cover your essential requirements, on which you can add other travel requirements.

We can assist with private transfers on request.

 

Quotation for Myanmar Border Crossing

Please ensure you provide below essential information when inquiring, so that we can provide you a much more precise quote on our services.

Documents required for border crossing permission applications

In order to submit the permission application for Myanmar border crossing, applicants are required to submit below documents, providing all the requested detail information as precisely as possible. Ideally, clients should provide these documents at least 4 weeks in advanced.

1. A clear and good quality scanned copy of applicant passport; front cover page and bio-data/ photo page.
2. Planned Itinerary in Myanmar (please provide exact itinerary if possible, applicants must arrive or depart Myanmar on the date specified on the application, it is complicated and costs extra to make changes).
3. Below personal details:
   a) Full Name as appear in passport
   b) Passport Number
   c) Passport Issue Date
   d) Passport Expiry Date
   e) Place of Issue
   f) Issuing Authority
   g) Nationality
   h) Date of Birth
   i) Place of Birth
   j) Gender
   k) Occupation
   l) Detail Itineraries/ Details of the Tour Plan in Myanmar

If you are bringing your foreign registered vehicle, you also need to submit below documents along with the above. MTT may ask for more documents during the application.

1. Vehicle registration (e.g. V5 Form for UK Registered Cars)
2. Vehicle details (Make, Model, Engine Power, Weight)
3. Good quality colour photograph of the vehicle from all 4 sites.
4. Valid driver licenses of all drivers

Vehicular Crossings for clients who wants to bring foreign registered vehicles with them

For the aforementioned clients, we are required to provide the MTT Liaison officer and a licensed guide within the restricted zones. If you do not have at least two spare seats on your vehicles, we will have to provide a support vehicle at an extra costs.

See the list of permitted area for travellers in Myanmar.

 

1. Can I travel on a public transport/ buses?

Thai Borders:
Travellers can travel freely travel overland on their choice of transport to and from Thai borders, except for Tachileik/ Mai Sai Thai border. Travelers do not need a MTT permission to arrive or depart Tachileik border so long as they travel to and from the border via air, there are flights between Tachileik and mainland Myanmar (Heho/ Mandalay/ Yangon). However MTT permission is required to travel overland between Taunggyi and Tachileik on a privately hired car, with or without the accompany of a licensed tour guide. It is not possible to travel overland on a public transport between Taunggyi and Tachileik at this moment. Although this may change in the future.
 
China Border (Muse/ Jaegao-Ruili) and Indian Border (Tamu/ Moreh):
If arriving in Myanmar via above border ports, clients require a MTT permission letter and a licensed tour guide to receive the clients at the border gate. As per recent changes, escorted private transfer by the tour guide is not a compulsory requirement anymore. Travellers can take public transports, coaches, shared taxis and privately hired cars. Travellers can travel to the main land with or without the accompany of the guide.As per recent changes, travelers no longer require MTT permit to depart Myanmar via above border ports.

 

2. How long does the immigration clearance take at the border gate?

Entry clearance may varies, it usually takes about 10-15 minutes. However, there are a few cases when the entry clearance took up to a few hours. Exit clearance are usually quicker.For entry clearance with MTT permission at China or India borders, the assisting guide will present all the paper work to the border port in advanced before your planned arrival time. After the immigration and Custom clearances, the guide can also help with organising transports etc whether you travel to the main land with them or not.

 

3. When is the best time to arrive at the border gate for the entry?

We suggest that you arrive as early as possible at the border port, between 8:30 and 9:30 AM. Below are the estimated driving time between destinations. Please note that bigger vehicles may take longer.

MuSe to Lashio: 7.5 hours
MuSe to Mandalay: 11 hours
Tamu to Kalay: 3-4 hours
Tamu to Monywa: 12-13 hours
Monywa to Mandalay: 3-3.5 hours
Yangon to Hpa-An: 6 hours
Hpa-An to Myawaddy: 11-12 hours

 

4. What are the Custom procedures?

See Myanmar Customs website for details all foreign travellers need to comply with. This applies at any port, international airports in major cities and the border ports with its neighboring countries.

 

5. I want to cycle all the way from the border, is it possible?

It is possible on some routes within the restricted zones. However, for some routes we recommend you to be on the public or privately hired transport vehicle for your safety. Under current industry regulation, we are still required to provide a support vehicle, a MTT Liaison officer and the licensed guide to escort the cycling clients within the restricted zone or throughout the entire trip depending on the itinerary (e.g. enter from one border and exit via another border port).

 

6. What are the estimated driving times?

Below are the estimated driving time between destinations which are featured in our sample border crossing itineraries. These will vary depends on the weather, road and local conditions. Please note that bigger vehicles may take longer.

 

Destinations	Estimated driving time
Mandalay – Mu Se	10 – 12 hours
Lashio – Mu Se	3 hours
Lashio – Hsipaw	2 hours
Hsipaw – Pyin Oo Lwin	4 hours
Pyin Oo Lwin – Mandalay	2 hours
Tamu – Kalay	3 – 4 hours
Kalay – Monywa	7 – 8 hours
Monywa – Mandalay	3 – 4 hours
Tamu – Monywa	14 hours plus
Kalay – Mandalay	10 hours
Mandalay – Bagan	6.5 hours
Bagan – Inle Lake	6.5 hours
Inle Lake – Hsipaw	6 hours
Inle Lake – Taunggyi	45 minutes
Inle Lake – Khun Eain Village	8.5 hours
Khun Eain Village – Kengtung	7.5 hours
Kengtung – Tachileik	3 – 4 hours
Yangon – Inle Lake	11 – 12 hours
Yangon – Kyaiktiyo	4 – 5 hours
Kyaiktiyo – Hpa An	2.5 – 3 hours
Yangon – Hpa-An	5.5 to 6 hours
Hpa-An – Myawaddy	2 – 2.5 hours
Yangon – Myawaddy	7 – 8 hours