Myanmar implements mandatory mobile phone registration for international travelers

Mizzima

Myanmar’s military-controlled media said 14 July that international air travelers entering the country with mobile phones bought abroad must register each device with the junta’s Central Equipment Identity Register, submitting passport copies, boarding passes and flight tickets within 30 days of arrival or face fines on top of applicable taxes, under a procedure detailed for Yangon, Naypyidaw and Mandalay international airports.

According to the notice, the requirement — issued by the CEIR and EIR System Project Steering Committee, the body that launched the registration system in March — is one part of a wider drive the junta has also extended to travelers entering through land border crossings and sea ports.

The system, known as CEIR, requires the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of every handset — not just its SIM card — to be logged before the device can connect to a network.

Myanmar’s military has controlled the country since seizing power in a February 2021 coup and has steadily tightened its grip on telecommunications infrastructure as it battles a nationwide armed resistance. Handsets already in use were automatically added to an approved list if linked to a Myanmar SIM card by 31 March; those that missed the deadline were given a 30-day grace period before facing service blocks, taxes and penalties.

Beyond phone registration, returning travelers already face a separate requirement. The regime’s Ministry of Labour ordered in January that migrant workers returning from abroad report their arrival to authorities — a directive industry experts described as part of a broader effort to monitor and tax the diaspora while enforcing the junta’s conscription law. The CEIR procedure adds a second layer of paperwork for much of the same population.

The financial cost of falling outside the system is visible elsewhere in the country. In Dawei, unregistered or untaxed mobile lines have been cut off under the same CEIR system, with users forced to pay up to 10,000 kyats (about $3.20) in fees and taxes to restore service, according to monthly monitoring by the rights group Athan. Athan’s data show the policy falls hardest on people returning from abroad with foreign-purchased handsets — the same population the new airport procedure now targets directly.

The Myanmar Internet Project, a digital rights research group, has said the registration system significantly upgrades the junta’s surveillance capabilities. In its report on the rollout, the group said linking a handset’s IMEI number to its SIM registration allows authorities to trace a device’s movements and identify its user, and warned that the same database could let the regime remotely disable a handset or cut off an individual’s communications.

The CEIR and EIR System Project Steering Committee has said mobile users can check a device’s registration status or pay applicable taxes at ceir.gov.mm, or by calling the CEIR call centre at 1577 or 1755.