Stay Permits, Work Permits, and Entry Visas Can Now Be Applied for Online

On 30 September 2021, the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (“DICA”) announced that companies holding an MIC permit or MIC endorsement can now apply for stay permits, work permits, and entry visas for foreign employees and their family members online starting from 1 November 2021 through the website: http://movas.dica.gov.mm/.

Companies will first need to register an account on the website. The required information and documents to be submitted are still the same as for paper applications, including the following:

• Business agreement between the company and its client
• Applicant’s position
• Duration of visa extension (6 months/1 year)
• Type of visa (single/multiple/stay permit only)
• Number of visa extensions from DICA (1 time/2 times/3 times…)

There is no guidance as to when a company should submit an application to extend a stay permit, work permit, or multiple entry visa in this new system. However, we believe that the requirement will be the same as the current practice, which is that the application should be submitted at least 21 days before the expiration date of either the multiple entry visa or stay permit, whichever comes first.