Between 3 and 26 September 2026, the Myanmar military junta executed a coordinated, multi-layered campaign of passport, travel, and consular restrictions targeting citizens domestically and abroad. On 3 September 2026, the regime’s Seafarer Division abruptly banned new sailors from leaving the country for visits using a Seaman Myanmar Passport (PS), effective 15 September 2026. The following day, the junta’s embassy in Bangkok severely restricted Passport for Visit (PV) renewals to a mere 50 applications per day. The embassy further required two-month advance clearances from Naypyidaw, stopped issuing forms for passports with over six months of validity, and strictly cross-checked personal information using the UID Smart Card, granting renewals only to those “clear of political matters.”
Domestically, the junta tightened immigration rules starting 10 September 2026. Citizens renewing PVs who had stayed abroad for a year or more were forced to justify their absence, and anyone abroad for over six months was automatically classified as “working” and mandated to pay annual taxes. Concurrently, on 24 September 2026, the Tokyo embassy refused to process any consular matters unless applicants submitted copies of their National Registration Card (NRC) and household census lists.
The crackdown culminated on 23 and 26 September 2026, when the junta’s Ministry of Labor issued coercive directives barring returning overseas workers from re-exiting the country unless they presented proof of remitting 25 percent of their salary to their families, paid a 2 percent income tax, and signed a pledge agreeing to enlist in forced conscription if summoned.