Myanmar junta imposes mandatory airport reporting for returning migrant workers

Mizzima

The Ministry of Labour under the Myanmar Military Commission has issued a new directive requiring all returning overseas workers to report to designated airport arrival counters, further tightening control over the country’s migrant workforce.

According to an announcement posted on the ministry’s “Safe Migration” Telegram channel on 15 January, 2026, the regulation applies specifically to holders of Passport for Job (PJ) documents and individuals returning with a Certificate of Identity (CI).

Under the new rules, returning workers must register their information at the Ministry of Labour counter upon arrival at the airport.

The statement warned that failure to report will result in a ban on future departures, stating that only those who have a record of reporting at the arrival counter will be permitted to leave the country again. This move coincides with a broader crackdown on overseas travel that began on 14 January, which now requires all Overseas Worker Identification Card (OWIC) holders to obtain explicit prior permission from the Department of Labour and Employment before traveling abroad.

The shift in procedure has replaced the previous email-based application system with a mandatory in-person or courier-based submission process for leave permits.

Workers must now wait for their names to be officially published on the “Safe Migration” Telegram channel before they are cleared for departure. Overseas employment agencies report that these abrupt changes caused significant chaos at Yangon International Airport earlier this week, leaving hundreds of workers stranded and facing the risk of job termination from foreign employers.

The restrictions are seen by industry experts as part of a larger strategy to monitor and tax the diaspora while enforcing the national conscription law. Since the coup, the junta has banned men of military age (18–35) from working abroad and mandated that all legal migrant workers remit 25 percent of their monthly foreign-currency salaries through state-controlled banks at below-market exchange rates. Agencies warn that these tightening “legal” hurdles are increasingly pushing young people toward informal and riskier migration channels to escape both economic hardship and military service.