Between 12 and 31 August 2026, the Myanmar military junta abruptly escalated passport restrictions and administrative hurdles across its overseas diplomatic missions, specifically in Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. On 12 August, the Myanmar embassy in Tokyo mandated that nationals with passports expired for five years or more must return to Myanmar for renewal, offering only a Certificate of Identity (CI) for the return trip. Previously, citizens could renew these by paying late fees. Activists suspect this directly targets the strong anti-coup diaspora in Japan, aiming to push dissidents into the junta’s domestic jurisdiction.
Subsequently, on 19 August 2026, the embassy in Bangkok suspended replacements and renewals for Passports for Visit (PV) without prior notice. Migrants seeking to renew or convert their PVs to a Passport for Job (PJ) or Passport for Education (PE) must now submit applications that require formal clearance directly from Naypyidaw, with applicants instructed to wait at least two months for a status update. By 31 August 2026, similar mandatory clearance requirements for passport category conversions were introduced in missions across Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. These sudden restrictions have stranded thousands of overseas workers, students, and political refugees, placing them at imminent risk of losing their legal residency and employment status.