Official! Burma ID’s issued in record time in Three Pagoda Pass

Villagers in the Three Pagoda Pass area say government immigration officials issuing identity cards to residents from villages from around the Karen State border town in record time.

Residents say township immigration officials are providing ID cards and household registrations to all civilians, both urban and rural, who apply for the documentation. Individuals and families are turning up in droves at immigration offices with a recommendation letter from their section administration chief to obtain the ID cards.

Naing Aung, a resident in Three Pagoda Pass Town, said that getting an ID card is now cheap, quick and easy.

“It doesn’t cost much. If there are few people, we can get it within one day, but if there many people, we have to wait for a week. Many people, especially people from Mon and Karen villages south of the town have come to get their ID cards. Anyone who comes with the recommendation letter from their section administration chief is issued the ID card.”

Naing Aung explained that the cost for the ID card is 200 Thai Baht and many hundreds of local residents have been issued with the ID card.

Three Pagoda residents noted that many people, including merchants and traders from different parts of the country, and members of the All Mon Region Democracy Party, National League for Democracy and the Union Solidarity and Development Party have also received ID cards.

A happy resident who got her ID card said that it was both easy and cheap.

“I’ve already got it. There was no difficulty. If we have the recommendation letter from the village chief, we will get it. It is not difficult like it was before and it doesn’t cost much.”

Three Pagoda Pass Town is located on the border of Karen and Mon State and also shares a border with Thailand. The majority of residents are Karen and Mon with the rest made up of different ethnic nationalities from different parts of the country who are living there doing cross border trade and business.