In Myanmar, every child has the right to receive a birth certificate under the Child Rights Law (2019).[1] All births and deaths must be registered with local ward or village tract administrators in accordance with the Ward and Village Tract Administration Law (2012).[2] A birth certificate does not prove citizenship but is a crucial document for accessing a wide range of rights and services in Myanmar, such as enrolling in school, accessing healthcare and applying for citizenship documentation.[3] While the law indicates that all births should be registered, in practice, minority communities such as Rohingya as well as Kachin and Karen face barriers in access to birth registration.[4] Rohingya newborns in Rakhine State face multiple barriers in registration.[5] These include medical verification, administrator recommendations, and township approval.[6] Parents are often required to provide documents they do not possess, pay bribes, or marriage permissions (unique to the Rohingya community).[7] As a result many children go unregistered, leading to their erasure from official records.[8]
The Village and Ward Tract Administrators are also tasked with maintaining and updating household lists.[9] Although these lists do not prove citizenship they are used to track population movements, including relocations, marriages, and changes in household composition.[10] Household lists are important for the issuance of identity documents, school enrolment, accessing electricity, water, health services and other public services.[11] The Ministry of Immigration and Population and the Ministry of Home Affairs jointly oversee the issuance and updating of household lists.[12] It should be noted that Rohingya households endure deliberate delays or deletions during annual ‘population checks’ if members are absent, while other stateless groups like ethnic Chinese, Indians, or displaced border minorities (e.g., Karen) struggle with outdated lists due to conflict, poverty, or lack of property proof, blocking access to services.[13]
The primary identification document for citizens of Myanmar is the Citizens Scrutiny Card (CSC), which is issued by the Ministry of Immigration and Population.[14] Introduced under the Burma Citizenship Law (1982), the CSC is the primary identification document for citizens in Myanmar.[15] The 1982 law demarcates three categories of citizenship, and different CSCs are issued accordingly:
- (Full) Citizens (Pink card): Individuals who belong to one of the 135 officially recognized national races (Taing Yin Thar) or can trace their ancestry to residents who permanently settled in Myanmar before 04 January 1823 (the start of British colonization).[16]
- Associate Citizens (Blue card): Individuals who acquired citizenship under the Union Citizenship Act (1948) (repealed) but do not meet the ancestry requirements for full citizenship.[17]
- Naturalized Citizens (Green card): Individuals who have resided in Myanmar since before 4 January 1948 and applied for citizenship after the 1982 law came into effect.[18] They must demonstrate fluency in a national language, good character, and lawful conduct.[19]
At age 10, all citizens are required to apply for a National Registration Record Card (NRRC), which serves as a precursor to the CSC.[20] At age 18, individuals must renew and upgrade their NRRC to a CSC.[21]
The Temporary Registration Card (TRC) was originally introduced as a temporary replacement for individuals whose National Registration Card (pre-cursor to the CSC) was lost or damaged.[22] Sources also mention that TRCs were issued to minority communities that had not been recognised under the 1982 Citizenship Law while their citizenship status was being determined.[23] In February 2015, TRCs were revoked by the government and replaced with a Temporary Approval Card (TAC) or a ‘white card receipt’.[24] It functions primarily as an acknowledgment of identity pending further verification, but it offers no pathway to citizenship and no legal protection.[25] For the Rohingya community, TRCs and TACs labeled individuals as ‘foreigners’ or ‘Bengalis’, reinforcing their exclusion.[26] Many Rohingya who once held TRCs became effectively undocumented when those cards were revoked without a replacement that conferred substantive status.[27]
Lastly, National Verification Cards (NVC) have been issued since 2016 to people undergoing citizenship verification.[28] These were previously known as Identity Card of National Verification but were changed when the National League for Democracy (NLD) came to power in March 2016.[29] The NVC (turquoise card) is not considered proof of citizenship or a formal identity document.[30]
