The Nationality law of Myanmar currently recognises three categories of citizens, namely citizen, associate citizen and naturalised citizen, according to the 1982 Citizenship Law. Citizens, as defined by the 1947 Constitution, are persons who belong to an "indigenous race", have a grandparent from an "indigenous race", are children of citizens, or lived in
British Burma prior to 1942.
Under this law, citizens are required to obtain a National Registration Card (, NRC), while non-citizens are given a Foreign Registration Card (, FRC). Citizens whose parents hold FRCs are not allowed to run for public office.
Myanmar has a stratified citizenship system. Burmese citizens' rights are distinctively different depending on the category they belong to and based on how one's forebearers acquired their own citizenship category.
* Full citizens are descendants of residents who lived in Burma prior to 1823 or were born to parents who were citizens at the time of birth.
* Associate citizens are those who acquired citizenship through the 1948 Union Citizenship Law.
* Naturalized citizens are those who lived in Burma before 4 January 1948 and applied for citizenship after 1982.
Dual citizenship
Dual citizenship is not recognised by Myanmar.
Naturalisation
Foreigners who have been in the country since 1948 can also apply for nationality.
Denial of citizenship to Rohingya
Burmese law does not consider
Rohingyas
The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...
as one of the 135 legally recognised
ethnic groups of Myanmar
Myanmar (also known as Burma) is an ethnically diverse nation with 135 distinct ethnic groups officially recognised by the Burmese Government. These are grouped into eight "major national ethnic races":
# Bamar
# Chin
# Kachin
# Karen
# Kaya ...
, thus denying most of them Myanmar citizenship.
The official claim of the Government of Myanmar is that the Rohingya people are the "citizens of Bangladesh", however the Government of Bangladesh does not recognize this claim, thus leaving the Rohingya stateless.
See also
*
Human rights in Myanmar
Human rights in Myanmar under its military regime have long been regarded as among the worst in the world. International human rights organisations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the American Association for the Advance ...
*
Visa requirements for Myanmar citizens
Visa requirements for Myanmar citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Myanmar. As of 28 September 2019, Myanmar citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 46 countries and te ...
References
{{Nationality laws
Law of Myanmar
Nationality law
Rohingya people