Sources told DVB that at least 50,000 workers in Myanmar preparing to go abroad for employment are stuck inside the country and facing financial problems due to restrictions imposed by the regime’s Ministry of Labour. 

A woman told DVB on the condition of anonymity that she was supposed to go to Japan in February but the delays in issuing Overseas Worker Identification Cards (OWIC) have kept her waiting.  

The ministry has required overseas job seekers to re-apply for OWIC since March. Workers must obtain the OWIC for overseas jobs under the 1999 Foreign Employment Law. An OWIC has a five-year term and contains the holder’s details which are kept by the ministry. 

Sources told DVB that the screening process for OWIC has been delayed as the Ministry of Labour office in Naypyidaw was damaged by the earthquake on March 28. The regime hasn’t shared any details on the extent of the destruction caused to ministry buildings during the quake. Naypyidaw is located 172 miles (277 km) south of the quake epicenter in Sagaing Region.

A monthly quota on the number of migrant workers each overseas employment agency can send abroad was imposed in March. The issuance of OWIC was resumed on March 20 following the ministry’s ban on men aged 18 to 35, who are required to do military service under the conscription law, from signing employment contracts for work abroad on Jan. 31. 

The regime enforced the People’s Military Service Law on Feb. 10, 2024, which requires conscription-aged men to serve a minimum of two years in the military. 

A Yangon resident looking for work overseas told DVB on the condition of anonymity that he had to borrow 20 million MMK ($4,500 USD) to cover overseas employment agency fees at interest rates of 1.3 million MMK ($300 USD) per month. 

A net charge of seven million MMK ($1,575 USD) must be paid to the employment agency for a skilled visa to work in Japan. An internship visa costs nearly 13 million MMK ($2,875 USD), according to employment agencies in Yangon. 

Workers who passed job interviews to work in Japan told DVB that their debts are accruing interest as they have not been able to leave the country for months despite receiving offers of employment. 

A migrant worker, who is on leave in Myanmar from his current job in Singapore, told DVB that due to the delay in obtaining OWIC he was fired by his company for not returning to work on time.   

He added that companies in Singapore cancel job offers if workers don’t show up within 1-2 weeks after the In-Principle Approval is issued. This is a document issued by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower which signifies preliminary approval for foreign workers to gain employment and reside in Singapore. 

Over 600 overseas employment agencies in Myanmar have obtained licences to send migrant workers abroad. But only 485 of them sent 131,501 workers overseas last year, according to the ministry’s figures released in early May.