Myanmar students in Thailand must renew passports at home, junta says

Myanmar nationals studying in Thailand on short-term education visas will no longer be able to renew their passports at their embassy in Bangkok or consulate in Chiang Mai, and must return home to do so, the junta announced Friday.

The new restriction comes amid the junta’s recent enactment of a draft to shore up troop shortages amid losses to rebel armies that oppose the military’s Feb. 1, 2021, coup d’etat.

The draft has prompted thousands of draft-eligible men and women to join armed opposition groups or flee the country.

“It seems that the junta is forcing young people to return home … and we’ll have to do so if our passports expire,” said a young man living in Thailand who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. “Otherwise, we’d need to change from an ED visa to another visa type.”

The young man said he believes the new restrictions will prompt more Myanmar nationals to stay on in Thailand illegally.

“It’s very difficult and risky for us to renew our passports in Myanmar,” he said.

At least 3,700 Myanmar nationals are currently studying in Thailand, Thailand's Ministry of Higher Education said.

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According to the junta statement, Myanmar nationals who are attending undergraduate and postgraduate programs at universities can continue to apply for a special “Passport for Education,” or PE, that would allow them to remain in the country legally.

Sacrificing most valuable resource

Aung Kyaw, a labor advocate in Thailand, agreed that the new restriction will prompt more Myanmar nationals to stay in the country illegally.

"Myanmar’s young people are the country’s most valuable resource and they have suffered many disadvantages due to the junta's actions that have prevented them from developing their knowledge and skills,” he said. 

“If they can’t renew their passports, they can’t live in Thailand legally, but they will likely do so to escape the danger of the junta's conscription law.”

Attempts by RFA to contact the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok for further detail on its statement went unanswered, as did attempts to reach junta spokesperson Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun.

Ne Phone Latt, the spokesperson for the shadow National Unity Government’s Prime Minister's Office, said that the junta is doing whatever it can, including sacrificing the lives of young people, to maintain its grip on power.

"It appears that they are targeting the middle class, rather than the working class,” he said. “The junta has blocked young people from going abroad for educational purposes or overseas employment, and is forcing them to return home through any means possible.”

Some advocates for Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand have urged them to apply for residency in the country before their passports expire, saying it’s the only way they can avoid new restrictions by the junta.

Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.