Event Summary
On 17 March 2026, the Myanmar military junta’s National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) enacted a new Myanmar Passport Law, repealing the 1920 Passport Act and introducing a comprehensive electronic passport system with stringent controls. The law establishes a centralized 10-member Myanmar Passport Issuance Board chaired by the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, granting it ultimate authority to approve, refuse, restrict, or revoke passports. Applicants must now possess a Unique Identification Number (UID) from the junta’s 2024 digital ID system—effectively requiring overseas workers to return to Myanmar to apply. The law contains broad discretionary clauses allowing denial of passports to anyone “considered likely to threaten national security or the interests of the State,” those with political offense charges, and individuals released with outstanding sentences. Penalties range from three months to five years imprisonment with fines for fraudulent applications, passport misuse, or forgery. Human rights and legal experts warn that the law weaponizes administrative procedures to target political dissidents, Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) participants, and overseas workers who supported the pro-democracy movement, while simultaneously upgrading the junta’s digital surveillance capabilities without any data protection safeguards.