Myanmar nationals working abroad threatened with penalties for failing to remit 25 percent of their earnings

Subscribe to the Myanmar Now daily newsletter. It's free. Sign up > Myanmar’s military regime has issued a warning to citizens working abroad, requiring them to remit 25 percent of their income through approved channels or face penalties.In a statement released on Friday, the regime announced that workers who fail to comply will be denied passport extensions and overseas worker identity cards and may face future travel bans.Remittances must be made monthly or quarterly through registered banks, not through unlicensed money transfer services known as “hundis.” The regime also mandated that employment agencies sending workers abroad assist with these transfers and submit monthly documentation to the authorities.A foreign employment agency owner in Yangon, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed difficulty in getting workers to adhere to the rule due to revenue loss. “The gap between the official exchange rate, which overvalues the Myanmar kyat, and the market rate is significant,” he explained, noting that banks only offer the official rate.Currently, one US dollar is worth 5,400 kyat on the market, while KBZ Bank, a privately-owned domestic bank, offers only 4,150 kyat per dollar for remittances. Other currencies, such as the Thai baht, are similarly undervalued by authorised banks in Myanmar.As a result, few workers follow the regime’s order. A Myanmar woman working in a Thai factory reported that “hardly anyone here follows the bank’s prescribed procedures.” Instead, she said, workers convert their money through hundis and then transfer it using apps like KPay or Wave, bypassing the banks. Workers’ rights activists in Myanmar have criticized the junta for unfairly seizing wages of overseas workers through these remittance requirements and taxes. According to the International Labour Organization, over four million Myanmar nationals were working abroad in 2020. The ongoing political and economic crisis following the coup has prompted many Myanmar citizens to seek employment overseas. On September 1, regime leader Min Aung Hlaing informed junta-appointed chief ministers of a foreign currency shortage in the country, stating that measures were being taken to control spending.

Myanmar nationals working abroad threatened with penalties for failing to remit 25 percent of their earnings

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