The National Unity Government (NUG) representative office in South Korea announced this week that it has processed nearly 1,000 Myanmar passport renewals over the last four months. 

It added that it continues to provide passport renewal services despite threats from regime officials at the Myanmar embassy in Seoul, according to a source from the NUG who spoke to DVB on condition of anonymity.

The South Korean Immigration Department has allowed visa extensions for up to two years “on humanitarian grounds” for Myanmar citizens whose passports have expired, added the source. 

This agreement came after the regime in Naypyidaw refused to renew passports for its nationals in South Korea, suspected of opposing the 2021 military coup, at its embassy in Seoul.

The NUG representative office is in Incheon, South Korea, which is located 19 miles (32 km) west of Seoul. It announced that it is assisting “those who are actively involved in the revolution and [have been] detained by [South] Korean immigration due to visa issues” on Nov. 10. 

“The NUG office doesn’t issue new passports but instead stamps expired passports with their official seal, which can then be used for visa extensions,” a Myanmar citizen who lives in South Korea, and recently renewed his passport, told DVB.

“We are not concerned about threats from the [regime] embassy or restrictions on traveling to Myanmar or other countries,” said a Myanmar citizen working in Seoul.

In response to the NUG passport renewal service, the Myanmar embassy in Seoul issued a statement on Sunday threatening action against any Myanmar national who “illegally” renews their passport using unofficial stamps.

South Korea is the first country to allow such passport renewals following the regime’s September 2024 restriction on passport renewals for its citizens with one-year education visas in Thailand.

“It would be nice if Thailand allowed similar arrangements as in South Korea,” a Myanmar student living in Thailand shared on social media after news of the NUG passport renewals in South Korea was reported by DVB.

The NUG established its representative office in South Korea in September 2021, its first in Asia. Similar offices have since opened in other countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Japan, and Czechia (Czech Republic). 

The NUG Foreign Affairs Minister Zin Mar Aung and Planning, Finance, and Investment Minister Tin Tun Naing attended the 44th anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising for democracy in South Korea on May 18.