By Hanthar Hein - Mar 17, 2025

All workers who signed employment contracts with Thai employers before January 30, 2025, and workers approved for deployment under valid demand letters for other countries must be sent abroad first before proceeding with new overseas job recruitments, according to a notification issued by the military council’s Ministry of Labour to licensed agencies on March 17.

The notification sent to licensed overseas employment agencies stated that once all remaining workers approved for deployment to their respective countries have been sent, new demand letters for recruitment will then be accepted.

“The notification issued today states that all workers with pre-approved contracts from before January 30 must be deployed first before accepting any new recruitment requests. There are still nearly 10,000 workers waiting to be sent. New job offer letters will not be accepted until they are deployed. This will create difficulties for agencies that have already received new recruitment letters. Employers abroad might choose to hire workers from other countries instead of waiting for Myanmar workers. Those preparing to leave may face long delays, which could also lead to an increase in illegal migration,” said a licensed agency representative.

Additionally, the Ministry of Labour will notify agencies about the limitations on the number of demand letters each agency can submit after January 30.

OWIC cards must be issued first for workers approved for deployment under each country’s recruitment program, and only then will final approval for overseas deployment be granted, following the prescribed procedures.