Residents in Mon State say immigration officials continue to demand large bribes for processing official documents, despite the military junta’s announcement that it would take action against corrupt employees in the Ministry of Immigration and Population.
During former military leader Min Aung Hlaing’s 100-day plan, the military junta announced that National Registration Cards (NRCs) and household registration documents would be processed free of charge. As a result, large numbers of Mon State residents seeking to update their documents have been queuing daily outside township immigration offices.
A woman from Ye who recently went through the process said some immigration officials and brokers were working together to demand between 200,000 and one million kyats from residents seeking to transfer names, add newborn family members to household registration lists or amend household registration records.
“If you don’t pay, they won’t process your documents. I had to pay one million kyats to add a newborn to the household registration list and to transfer names between the NRC and the household registration list. That happened just two weeks ago,” she said.
She added that the payments were made through brokers.
Residents also said immigration officials at the Mudon Township Immigration Office were demanding money from people seeking document services and verbally abusing applicants.
“The staff are very arrogant. They make it clear that if you cannot pay the amount they ask for, they will not process your documents. I had to pay 100,000 kyats just to correct the name mismatch between my NRC and household registration list before applying for a smart card. You have to speak to them very humbly,” said a woman from Ka Mar Wet Town in Mudon Township.
The woman from Ye said complaints about the alleged extortion had been reported to the relevant authorities, but no changes had been observed.
The Mon State government under the military junta has announced that anyone who experiences demands for money by immigration officials can report the incident to the Director’s Office of the Mon State Immigration and Population Department.
However, according to local residents, many people are reluctant to file complaints because they fear for their security.
