Myanmar’s junta has suspended issuing permits for men who want to work abroad, weeks after introducing a military conscription law that has led to thousands of people trying to leave the country.
The junta, which is struggling to quell widespread armed opposition to its government, said in February it would implement a law that would allow it to call up all men to serve in the military for at least two years. This prompted thousands of people to queue for visas outside foreign embassies in Yangon, while others attempted to cross the border into neighboring Thailand to escape the law.
The Ministry of Labor has thus decided to “temporarily suspend” the acceptance of applications from men who wish to work abroad. The measure, the ministry says, is necessary to “verify the departure processes and for other issues”.
According to an estimate by the International Labor Organization that cites data from the then government, in 2020 more than 4 million Burmese citizens worked abroad. The figure, however, could be much higher given that – analysts point out – many work abroad illegally.
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