Event Summary
On 11 January 2026, Myanmar’s junta-controlled Ministry of Labour abruptly changed procedures for migrant workers holding Overseas Worker Identification Card (OWIC), abolishing the email-based pre-departure approval system announced in March 2025. Effective from 14 January 2026, workers must now apply for approval from the Department of Labor in Naypyidaw in person, by post or via a representative, with applications required at least five days before travel. The list of approved travellers is published on its Telegram channel. Despite the announced date, enforcement began earlier, stranding hundreds of workers at Yangon International Airport from 12 January 2026. Subsequently, on 15 January, the ministry mandated that all returning workers with Passports for Job (PJ) or Certificates of Identity (CI) must report to ministry counters upon airport arrival, with non-compliance leading to a future travel ban. Further complicating matters, on 17 January, the ministry advised OWIC and PJ holders without work visas and pre-departure approval to convert to Passports for Visitor (PV), while this conversion has been impossible for conscription-aged men (18-35) since 2025. This contradictory guidance, combined with the new approval rule, has created a Kafkaesque trap for workers, with reports emerging of extortion at airports as individuals pay massive bribes (up to $1,250) to bypass the impossible requirements. These moves represent a significant escalation in the systematic control, surveillance, and bribery of the junta on Myanmar’s migrant workforce.