Myanmar junta steps up efforts to prevent workers from going abroad

Myanmar’s military regime has announced new measures to stem the flow of young people leaving the country for work, in its latest bid to crack down on draft evasion. In a statement published by junta-controlled state media on Thursday, the regime’s Ministry of Labour said that holders of “visit passports,” which are issued solely for the purpose of personal visits or tourism, would be subject to increased checks at airports. According to the ministry, an increasing number of people have been illegally using these so-called PV passports to travel abroad for work. To avoid unnecessary losses, would-be migrant workers were advised to obtain PJ, or job, passports and Overseas Worker Identification Cards before departure, the statement said. The move comes as many young people continue to seek ways to avoid being drafted into the military under a conscription law that went into effect for the first time earlier this year. In May, after many fled the country to escape compulsory military service, the regime imposed a new rule banning men aged 23 to 31 from leaving Myanmar to work overseas. “When the age restrictions were introduced, many young men started fleeing on [tourist] visas. Now they’re trying to stop these people from flying to other countries,” said the owner of an employment agency who did not want to be named. With more stringent passport controls at airports and border crossings, it is likely that immigration officials will start demanding bigger bribes from those desperate to leave, according to one man who made it out of the country several months ago. “People are stuck now. It was still manageable when I left,” he said, adding that when he was preparing to fly out of Yangon International Airport, officials were asking for 20,000 kyat (US$6) to expedite the departure process. “This morning, I saw some videos on Facebook showing people being denied their boarding passes, even as their flights were about to take off,” he said. Last week, the regime detained 40 people at the airport in Yangon as they were about to leave the country again after returning from jobs overseas. They were held on suspicion of attempting to evade the draft, sources familiar with the matter said. Some people have paid as much as one million kyat ($300) to change from PJ to PV passports, believing that it would make it easier for them to go abroad. In response, the regime announced that passports that are less than five years old as of June 6 could no longer be changed to other types. While the draft law has been a major factor in many people’s decision to leave Myanmar, many others have been motivated by desperation to escape the country’s sinking economy, which has been in free fall since the military seized power in February 2021. Despite its efforts to prevent workers from going abroad, the regime has also sought to profit from those who do, imposing taxes on their salaries and requiring them to transfer 25 percent of their earnings to Myanmar through junta-controlled banks.

Myanmar junta steps up efforts to prevent workers from going abroad

The move comes as many young people in the country continue to seek means to avoid being drafted into compulsory military service

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