Passport renewal procedures: Plans underway to provide services with mobile teams

According to the memorandum of understanding between Myanmar and Thailand, the mobile teams are working on plans to renew passports and going to the factories where about 12,000 Myanmar migrant workers are working, regarding with the passport renewal procedures. 

According to an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, renewal of business license is being provided for expiry PJ type passports. Most Myanmar migrant workers with PJ passports in Thailand work in factories, workshops, fisheries and cottage industries. Myanmar PJ passport holders in Thailand after 2015 are facing difficulty in returning Myanmar due to the temporarily closed border gates in 2020, 2021 and 2022 during the COVID-19 period. Regarding with passport renewal issues, the Embassy of Myanmar (Bangkok) and consulate general (Chiang Mai) are responsible. 

Director, Consular and Legal Affairs Department, Khine Su Linn, said " Regarding with passport renewal procedures, both mechanical force and manpower are being fulfilled starting from March 7th, 2022 and it is working 6 days a week except Sunday. Anyone who wants to change new passport in Thailand have to do step-by step as the procedures such as fingerprint and eye scanning and taking photo at the Embassy of Myanmar (Bangkok) and Consulate General (Chiang Mai) along with the prescribed forms."

2 sets of machines in the Embassy of Myanmar (Bangkok) for factory workers, 2 sets of machines for those who take appointments, monks, emergency patients, students and pregnant women, 1 set of machines for workers from the northern provinces of Chiang Mai have been installed and passport renewal processes have been carried out for more than 240,000 migrant workers as of December 2022. 

Director, Consular and Legal Affairs Department, Khine Su Linn, said " There are about 120,000 Myanmar migrant workers left to renew passports, plans are still being made to provide services at their work places with a mobile team. With the aim to develop the interests of Myanmar migrant workers and to effectively work in all sectors, MOFA is working in the cooperation with relevant ministries of Myanmar, the consulate general, the Embassy of Myanmar (Bangkok) as well as its relevant ministries of Thailand."

In order to provide services with mobile teams, 2 sets of hardware and software for issuing passports and the data entry and testing activities are being carried out by professional technicians. And at the same time, for the passport renewal procedures, factories with 1,000 workers and above are invited to register at Myanmar Embassy (Bangkok) by the deadline 20th January, 2023.  

At present, passport renewal processes are underway at the factories with less than 1,000 workers according to the alternative system.