Companies wishing to employ foreign experts and technicians must obtain permission from the Myanmar Investment Commission

Companies wishing to employ foreign experts and techni­cians must submit a list of employees to the Myan­mar Investment Commis­sion (MIC) before seven days of their employment, according to the direction the Directorate of Invest­ment and Company Ad­ministration (DICA) gave on October 3, 2017.

Foreign “Experts and technicians” would in­clude things like: engi­neering, consultants man­agement level employees, etc. Companies are le­gally required to seek ap­proval from the Myanmar Investment Commission before employing foreign experts and technicians.

This list must include the work permit applica­tion form. Foreign experts and technicians’ personal information like passport number, nationality, oc­cupation, employment du­ration; educational back­ground, certifications and curriculum vitae (CV); the number of foreigners and locals employed by the company; and the compa­ny’s most recent quarterly report, are all required in­formation on the applica­tion form.

“Any company who employs foreign experts and technicians needs MIC’s permission before they have confirmed the employment agreement with the foreigner,” U San Myint, Deputy Director General of Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, said.

“After the approval from MIC, a company must submit the work permit to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Popu­lation. A stay permit is also required — from the Township Administrator — as well as visas, which can be obtained from the Immigration and Nation­al Registration Depart­ment,” U San Myint said.

The Departmental Co­ordination Team, which was established and is lo­cated at DICA in Yangon, provides one stop servic­es, including the manage­ment of the procedures for employing foreign ex­perts and technicians.

The notification will be effective from October 21, 2017, and all foreign and local companies have to abide the notification, ac­cording to DICA.

To terminate employ­ment of foreign experts and technicians, a resig­nation letter is required along with copies of re­turn airline tickets to be submit to DICA.

Wherever possible how­ever, preference should be given to Myanmar citizens and a company’s unskilled positions must be filled by Myanmar citi­zens.

During the first year of a company’s operations in Myanmar, at least 25% of the skilled workforce of experts and technicians must be citizens of My­anmar. The second year increases to 50%, and the third year up to 75%, according to Myanmar Company Act.

Employment agree­ments for the appoint­ment of staff must be in accordance with local laws.

More information can be obtained from the Di­rectorate of Investment and Company Adminis­tration’s (DICA) website here: http://www.dica.gov.mm/en

(Myanmar Business Today: https://www.mmbiztoday.com/articles/new-laws-employing-foreign-skilled-workers )

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