In recent days, rumours have been circulating on social media saying that Myanmar citizens in Thailand who want to renew their Myanmar passports will have to return to Myanmar because the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok has stopped issuing and renewing passports.
But on 5 July, the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok issued a statement denying the rumours. It said: “The Myanmar embassy in Bangkok would like to inform everyone that the embassy is renewing passports as usual for Myanmar citizens working in Thailand.”
The statement said, “The types of passports we are renewing at our embassy are as follows:
(a) PJ type passport [Job Passport] held by Myanmar citizens who are working in Thailand
(b) PE type passport [Education Passport] held by Myanmar students who are pursuing education in a foreign country
(c) PR type passport [Religious Passport] held by Myanmar monks who are studying in a foreign country
(d) PT type passport [Dependent Passport] held by Myanmar citizens who are staying in Thailand who are visa holders' dependents.
(e) PS type passport [Seafarers Passport] held by Myanmar seafarers.”
The statement added, “The Myanmar embassy in Bangkok would like to inform everyone that renewals for all of the above-mentioned passport types can be done in one day as long as the applicant has a prior appointment with the embassy.