The Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (“DICA“) issued an Announcement for its Recommendation on Foreigner Visa Extensions (“Announcement“) that went into effect on 14 September 2022. The Announcement sets forth the requirements for companies that wish to apply to extend a foreigner’s visa and such companies must have been reg/istered for one year.

The DICA will issue recommendations for visa extensions to companies only after they comply with all requirements in line with the Law for one year if such companies were suspended or struck off for non-compliance with the Myanmar Companies Law of 2017 (“Law”).

Foreign personnel seeking to secure a recommendation for a visa extension must apply at least 90 to 120 days before their current visa expires, and their passport must be valid for a minimum of six months. The DICA will also require the following documents to be submitted:

1)     Updated company extract form;

2)     Evidence of the company’s current operations (if any);

3)     Proclamation from the company’s board of directors regarding the foreigner in question;

4)     Tax returns or audit reports for fiscal years 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023, or proof
         of prior income tax payments (if applicable);

5)     CV of the relevant foreigner, including a prominent (2″x 1.5″) size photograph taken within six
         months, education, experiences, permanent foreign address and domestic or local address;

6)      Terms of Reference (TORs) and job description for the foreign employee’s position and
          duties in the company;

7)      Employment contract and the foreigner’s education certificate and qualifications;

8)      Inform the DICA in case of a change of local address of the foreigner;

9)      Evidence of income tax payments for the periods they served if a foreigner requests
          a second extension;

10)    Number of employees in the company (foreigners and local citizens), including name,
          passport number or national registration card number, phone number; and

11)    Evidence of kinship of the relevant foreigner.

Companies with the MIC Permit or Endorsement Order must apply through the MIC Permitted Companies Online Visa Application System (“MOVAS“) via http://movas.dica.gov.mm. Any application for an online visa extension recommendation through https://visaonline.dica.gov.mm, will not be accepted.

The Announcement states that although the DICA carries out all verification processes for submitted visa cases, it can decline any application that does not conform to existing policies.

If you have any questions or need assistance on this matter, please contact us.

The information provided here is for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Legal advice should be obtained from qualified legal counsel for all specific situations.

Contact: myanmar@dfdl.com