Khaing Lu Hla (Roma Mray) — The immigration department branch office on Bahan (1) Road (Wangaba Road) in Yangon is reportedly demanding hundreds of thousands of kyats in bribes from Rakhine people trying to issue new national identity cards, according to a recent applicant.

"Many Rakhine people come to Yangon for various reasons. The government opened a branch office here to issue registrations and citizenship cards to Rakhine nationals who hold '11/' state-code identification numbers. We appreciate them managing the household registrations, but the immigration officers are demanding massive bribes, which is causing severe hardship for the public," she said.

The source added that even individuals with complete documentation are being extorted for hundreds of thousands of kyats just to register their identity.

"They are extorting money from people. I personally had to pay 300,000 kyats, and it still took more than a month to get my new card. Another woman who registered told me she had to pay even more than that. Some who could afford it paid up to 100,000 kyats for faster processing. It is completely unfair to force people to pay exorbitant sums for citizenship registration that is supposed to be free," she explained regarding the corrupt practices.

Most Rakhine people currently residing in Yangon are displaced refugees fleeing the conflict in Rakhine State. The population includes unemployed individuals and struggling government employees, all of whom are facing extreme financial distress due to these arbitrary, exorbitant fees.

The Yangon branch office on Bahan (1) Road specifically handles registration and household listings for Rakhine nationals.

This is not the first time the office has faced public backlash, as it has a history of complaints regarding systemic corruption and excessive fee demands.