By Yoon Sat - Mar 18, 2025

According to overseas employment agencies, Myanmar’s military regime will now approve new demand letters for foreign job recruitment only with a fixed worker quota.

Existing approved demand letters will still be processed, and workers who signed employment contracts before January 30, 2025, at Ping Long Hall for jobs in Thailand or other countries will be allowed to depart, as long as their demand letters are verified.

However, new demand letters submitted by agencies will be subject to a worker quota set by the regime after January 30, 2025. Each agency will receive individual approvals based on thorough screening, and the relevant department will inform them accordingly.

“Previous applications will be approved first, and all pending workers must be sent before new demand letters can be processed. New demands could take up to six months for approval, which would discourage foreign employers from hiring Myanmar workers. This will be especially difficult for agencies handling large numbers of demand letters,” said an overseas employment agency representative.

Additionally, the military regime has announced that agencies will only be allowed to submit new demand letters after all pending workers from previously approved requests have been deployed.

The regime’s Ministry of Labour halted the issuance of Overseas Worker Identification Cards (OWIC) in mid-February, effectively preventing workers from traveling abroad.

Now, all remaining workers must be sent overseas before agencies can submit new demand letters with the resumption of OWIC issuance starting March 20. These new requests will then be processed with a limited worker quota.