The Military Council’s Consulate Office in Chiang Mai announced on March 18 that Myanmar citizens residing in Thailand must submit recommendations from their ward administrators and police stations in Myanmar to obtain embassy endorsements for visa and stay permit extensions. For those living in Chiang Mai, obtaining an embassy endorsement will require copies of recommendations from their ward and police station in Myanmar, along with the original TM 30 form showing their current address in Thailand.
The Chiang Mai Consulate Office has stated that they will only process endorsements for tourist visas and visa extensions, declining to handle other types of endorsements. Meanwhile, the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok continues to provide endorsements for bank account openings and driver’s license applications, and allows black and white copies of documents. According to a source close to the Bangkok embassy, visa extensions there do not require ward and police station recommendations.
At the Military Council’s Consulate Office in Chiang Mai, applications for notary and various embassy endorsements are restricted to Myanmar citizens with long-term residence permits in Thailand. For notary services, original translated documents and color copies of all other documentation must be submitted. The office has set a processing time of three days for regular embassy endorsements and up to 14 days for notary certifications. These restrictions will be implemented starting March 19.
A CDM officer residing in Bangkok analyzed that these increased restrictions by the military council on Myanmar citizens living in Thailand are deliberately targeting CDM staff and political activists to make their lives more difficult. He emphasized that it would be practically impossible for CDM staff and political activists to obtain recommendations from ward administrators and police stations in Myanmar, highlighting the calculated nature of these new requirements.
