The Customs Department in Kalay town, Sagaing Division in Burma has suddenly increased charges for its recommendation letter called form-17, forty times. The form is necessary for applying for visas, locals from Kalay town said.

Form-17, provided by the Customs Department, is compulsory in Burma for those planning to apply for a visa to work in neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

"Recently, I paid Kyat 40,000 to the Customs office in Kalay town when I collected form-17. If I had used a broker to do it on my behalf, the charge would have been Kyat 70, 000," according to a local from Kalay planning to go abroad.

Officially, the charge for form-17 across the country is only Kyat 1000. But Customs officers working in Kalay town had increased the charge to Kyat 40,000, said a local in Kalay.

However, the charge for the form in Custom Departments in the rest of towns in Burma is said to be the same.

Though people do not know the exact reason for the sudden increase in charges for form-17, they believe that the increase was made by custom officials to squeeze money from locals planning to work overseas.

"Earlier, they charged only Kyat 1000 but I don't know why it has been suddenly increased. It is very likely that they did it because they want to fleece overseas job hunters," another local from Kalay town said.

Alarming increase in human right abuses and spiralling unemployment in military ruled Burma reportedly compelled many Chins and Burmans from Kalay areas to leave their mother land and work in neighbouring countries, mainly Malaysia.

"Since job opportunities in our areas are limited, some people sold their land and farm, applied for visa and left for neighbouring countries," another local in Kalay town added.