Junta-appointed immigration officials manning the border crossings to Thailand in Tachileik Town in Shan State are demanding bribes from Myanmar citizens travelling to Thailand without a Unique Identification Card (UIC).
The UIC, also known as the smart ID card is a new type of national identity card that includes the holder’s biometric data. The UIC is being rolled out nationwide to replace the old National Identity Card (NIC) but the rollout is ongoing and many people have not yet been able to get a UIC.
Despite this anyone wanting to leave Myanmar through a land crossing has to have a UIC and either a Temporary Border Pass (TBP) which is valid for just one border crossing and staying abroad for no longer than seven days, or a Border Pass (BP) which allows the holder multiple border crossings and longer stays abroad.
TBPs allows Myanmar citizens who are not residents of Tachileik Town to go to Thailand for medical purposes and other short-term visits.
Previously, if people wanted to cross at Tachileik and they had a TBC but no UIC the immigration authorities would charge them 20 Thai baht (THB) to cross. But now, since more draconian conscription law amendments were introduced by the junta in January 2025, more people want to leave the country.
Though the junta has said that people of conscription age cannot leave the country it has not officially closed its borders to them. At airports the junta has successfully managed to persuade the airport authorities to stop people of conscription age catching international flights it has been unable to stop them leaving by land borders as the border authorities will not enforce such a ban unless it becomes law, which currently, it is not.
But people worry that the junta may soon close the borders and since the conscription law amendments were introduced more people are desperate to leave the country.
Immigration officers know this and as a result have started demanding larger bribes from people who do not have UICs.
A Tachileik resident who frequently travels to Thailand said: “The authorities demand an average of 300 THB per person from TBP holders without a UIC. The amount varies depending on the situation of the individual; some are asked for as little as 100 THB, while others are charged up to 500 THB. With the growing number of people trying to cross into Thailand, it seems the immigration authorities have stumbled upon a treasure chest.”
But, though UICs are supposed to be being issued to everyone nationwide for free actually obtaining one can be quite hard and unnecessarily costly.
In Tachileik Town the authorities started issuing UICs in late April 2024, but to complete the process in a timely way applicants need to employ a broker to expedite the application process which, according to some applicants, costs an average of 700 THB.
In Taunggyi Township, southern Shan State, junta-appointed immigration authorities are demanding between 30,000 MMK and 100,000 MMK from UIC applicants, depending on their financial status.
Many people who want to leave the country also employ the services of a broker, which costs about 700 THB, to help facilitate their passage.
Using a broker can also have other advantages, especially for people who are permanently fleeing the country.
When people cross with a TBP immigration will hold their NIC or UIC as security. If the person does not return at the end of the TBP’s validity in seven days the authorities will take their NIC or UIC and they will be arrested on their return, or if they cross back unofficially they will have no NIC or UIC.
But if a broker is used to facilitate a crossing they have connections with immigration officers and are able to take back the NICs and UICs that immigration are holding as security and return them to their owners before they cross. This means that immigration will have no record of those people leaving the country so they can stay abroad undetected. When they want to return they cross back unofficially and can resume their lives because they still have their NICs or UICs.
A source close to some brokers described the system saying: “Anyone entering Thailand with a TBP must leave their National Identification Card (NIC) at the border checkpoint. However, brokers retrieve the NICs and return them to their owners. The Myanmar immigration authorities are fully aware of this but turn a blind eye because they also receive bribes from brokers.”
