Story by Sicha Rungrojtanakul
Cover illustration by Kittiya On-In

As Myanmar intensifies its military draft, a surge of middle-class Burmese youths are flocking to Thailand for education. This trend reveals the impact of Myanmar's political landscape on young lives, with Thailand becoming a crucial steppingstone before they seek further opportunities in other countries. Here, these students share their journeys, aspirations, and the sacrifices they make to escape military service.

First-year student from Shan State

Lao in her student uniform

Lao, a 20-year-old first-year student of Information and Communication Technology at an international college in Bangkok, spoke to Prachatai under a pseudonym. Her name, Lao, meaning "star" in Shan, reflects her heritage as an ethnic Shan. Recently arrived in Thailand, she left Myanmar following the government’s announcement of a civilian military draft amidst rising political unrest.

Under this law, men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 are required to serve in the military for two years.

“My move to Thailand was surprisingly easy,” Lao explained. “The university helped with all the paperwork for my student visa, so it wasn’t difficult for me. But for friends studying at other universities or in other countries, the process is very complicated.”

Among her peers, Lao is one of the few women and the only one from her hometown of Hsenwi in northern Shan State. About 90% of her classmates come from Myanmar, mostly men from Yangon. Some had already completed undergraduate studies but chose student status as a pathway to relocate.

Initially, Lao applied to three universities in Bangkok, eventually selecting this institution due to a 50% scholarship that covers her tuition for all four years. Most of her classmates, however, come from families who can afford the full fees.

Despite the scholarship, Lao still faces financial pressures, covering the remaining tuition and monthly expenses. Fluent in English, Shan, and Burmese, she takes on part-time work as a translator and document interpreter, even though her student visa technically prohibits part-time employment.

Before the 2021 military coup in Myanmar, Lao led a typical teenage life. She dreamed of becoming a doctor, inspired by the losses she witnessed in her war-torn home region, Shan State, and motivated by a desire to help people. The stable salary of a medical career also promised a way to lift her family’s economic standing. One could say that, if not for the coup, she would likely be studying medicine at a public university in Myanmar.

The political turmoil following the coup shattered her plans to attend a state university. She found herself adrift, directionless, until she eventually decided to abandon her original dream and focus on preparing for the GED (General Educational Development) exam—a U.S.-based high school equivalency qualification. Passing the GED, she hoped, would allow her to apply for undergraduate programmes at universities abroad.

“In the future, I want to use technology to preserve the Shan language, which is an important heritage of our community.”

Lao prepared for the GED with support from a civil society organisation advocating for educational rights for Shan people, where she also volunteered as a teacher for two years before moving to Thailand. This sense of community remains strong within her, even from afar. She remains determined to find work and eventually move to a third country after her studies, fulfilling her goals while honouring her roots.

Safe and Focused

Tula in a Barista Internship Uniform

“I’ve noticed that studying in Thailand includes much more practical work compared to Myanmar, where classes are mostly theoretical. Here, there is also strong support for international students, which has helped me adjust quickly,” says Tula*, a second-year student of Applied Chemistry at a university in Chiang Rai, who identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community. In a stark contrast to the atmosphere back home in Myanmar, moving in Thailand has made Tula feel more secure and able to focus entirely on studying. 

Like Lao, Tula's tuition fees are covered by a scholarship. However, as part of the scholarship conditions, Tula is required to complete internship hours working as a barista at the university, sometimes earning a modest stipend of around 500–800 baht per month, while relying on family support for other living expenses.

Tula reflects that the biggest hurdle for students from Myanmar is the challenging paperwork and visa process, which often gets delayed due to bureaucratic issues. Nevertheless, students from Myanmar understand and readily support each other through these obstacles.

Resuming Studies After a Disrupted Path Post-Coup

May, Shan-Burmese student at a University in Pathum Thani

“I had to hurriedly prepare my application documents, as there was only one month left before the scholarship deadline when I saw the announcement. I applied to just this one university and was accepted. Initially, I was interested in going to the U.S., but the visa process was incredibly difficult, and it felt too far from home. Thailand, on the other hand, allows me to easily see my parents if I get homesick.”

May, a final-year International Business student at an international college in a private university in Pathum Thani, reflects on her journey of applying for higher education. She is set to graduate in six months and is currently exploring opportunities in business and online marketing.

As one of the few scholarship students in her cohort, May received a 50% tuition scholarship covering her studies until graduation. Her family can cover the remaining expenses, including her living costs, which allows her to dedicate all her time to her studies and extracurricular activities.

Her activities fall into two categories. The first is serving as staff at university events, a condition of her scholarship. The second includes participating in business competitions and youth camps, with the hope that these experiences might help her secure a good job in the future.

“The situation in Myanmar has deteriorated even further. If we go back, I’m not sure we’d be able to leave again.”

May’s university journey didn’t start here. She was previously a third-year student majoring in Thai at the Yangon University of Foreign Languages. However, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a suspension of classes, followed by the military coup.

Like many young people, she joined street protests and online campaigns for several months. When the university eventually reopened, May decided not to return, as many professors had resigned to join the opposition movement. The shortage of faculty and her sense of solidarity with peers forced out of the education system led May to seek opportunities abroad.

May, of Shan-Burmese heritage, comes from Yangon, where her father works as an engineer at a private company and her mother is a homemaker. She adds that if she can’t find a job in Thailand, she plans to move to a third country.

No Way Back, Jobs Not Easy to Find

Moe

For students with a background in political activism, returning to Myanmar has become increasingly risky. Many of them are concentrated in social science programmes at universities in northern Thailand.

“I arrived here in 2023, initially thinking I’d go back home after graduation, as the Myanmar military hadn’t yet reinstated the conscription law. But once it was reintroduced this year, I knew I couldn’t go back,” shares Moe, a political activist in his late twenties, currently enrolled in a short-term Master’s programme in Public Policy.

Moe has already completed the required credits but has opted to extend his studies for as long as the university allows. This approach is common among Burmese students, who aim to maintain their student status to secure a place to live and gain work experience in Thailand. At present, Moe has yet to find a job and relies on a monthly allowance of around 10,000 baht sent by his family.

During his university years, Moe served as president of the student union. After graduating in International Relations from Dagon University, he worked for three years in rural development with an international organisation. This professional background helped him secure a full scholarship for his studies in Thailand; without it, leaving Myanmar might not have been possible.

“After the coup, the situation became indescribably bleak. Living without hope felt like being dead inside. Young people began to question why they were wasting time in such a country. Many of us wondered what life could be like if we could go abroad and start anew.”

Despite his academic achievements and work experience, finding a job in his field in Thailand has proven challenging. Moe discovered that language remains a significant barrier. Some international organisations operating in English still require candidates to be proficient in Thai, which has eliminated him from several opportunities. Additionally, he faces tough competition from other foreign applicants, including fellow Burmese students who are also striving to survive.

In July, Thailand’s Ministry of Interior announced a visa extension allowing international students holding Non-Immigrant ED visas and enrolled in undergraduate programmes or higher to remain in the country for one year post-graduation. This extension gives students time to find work, travel, or pursue other activities in Thailand.

Migration Trends

Pym Chaiyasan, First Secretary of the Consular Section at the Royal Thai Embassy in Yangon, shared with Prachatai the challenges of visa processing amid a surge in applications. She noted that since February, when Myanmar reinstated the military draft, young people have been applying for visas to Thailand at an unprecedented rate, far exceeding expectations. The embassy now processes up to 800 visa applications daily, at full capacity, compared to an average of 200 per day in the past, with peak numbers usually only around the start of the academic term.

Youth flocking to apply for Thai visas following the government’s announcement of mandatory civilian conscription (Photo: Kannavee Suebsaeng’s Facebook).

Pym described this group of students as mostly upper-middle class, coming from major cities like Yangon and Mandalay. Even those receiving scholarships from Thai universities still generally come from financially secure backgrounds.

Most of these students choose to study at private universities in Thailand, where entrance requirements are less competitive than public universities. Others, with more limited budgets, might opt for private universities near the border or shorter courses, such as Thai or English language programmes, due to easier access to accommodation or the presence of relatives nearby. Wealthier families may send their children as far as Western countries.

An indicator of the growing interest in studying in Thailand is the response to the Thailand Education Fair (Myanmar) held this past April, which saw an impressive 3,600 registrants. The event featured booths from dozens of educational institutions, offering information on courses, application procedures, and scholarship options. This fair was a collaborative initiative by Thailand’s Department of International Cooperation and the Association of Myanmar Alumni from Universities in Thailand (AMAUT).

The 8th Thailand Education Fair (Myanmar) is set for this November. Given the overwhelming response to the previous fair, the event will be extended to two days, with an expected attendance of 5,000–7,000 people.

Pym added that, despite this trend of increased student migration, future numbers may remain steady due to the relatively small size of Myanmar's upper-middle class and ongoing economic and social inequality challenges.

Myanmar Junta Pulling Youth Back for Conscription?

In mid-September, Myanmar's military government announced that its embassy in Bangkok and consulate in Chiang Mai would no longer renew passports for Myanmar students in Thailand holding short-term education visas. These students are now required to return to Myanmar to obtain new passports.

This measure has raised concerns that the junta is attempting to compel young people to return home, potentially for conscription purposes. Earlier this year, the military regime activated a conscription law, making it mandatory for young adults to serve in the military for two to five years.

While the immediate impact of this passport policy remains unclear, the students interviewed expressed anxiety about their future residency status in Thailand.