Guidance

Myanmar (Burma): Knowledge Base profile

Updated 7 October 2026

About: Myanmar (Burma)

This document contains useful information about Myanmar (Burma) which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email the Guidance team.

If you notice any formatting errors in this document (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the document then you can email the Guidance team.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 3.0
• published for Home Office staff on 01 July 2026

Changes from last version of this document

This Knowledge base profile has been updated in the Names section to show when HM Passport Office will add an observation to the British passport referencing the name shown in the customer’s foreign passport.

Myanmar (Burma): names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Myanmar (Burma).

A person from Myanmar (Burma) usually will have up to four forenames, all names will be considered as forenames only and not forenames and surnames.

The use of a surname in Myanmar (Burma) is not always practised and close family members can have different names.

Some citizens may develop a name that can be categorised as a family name. This usually happens if the parents continue to pass a name onto their children, throughout the generations.

To meet the requirements of a family name, people in Myanmar (Burma) will often, either:

• chose a surname (normally a name the person has a connection to, for example a parent’s name or the name of the place the person originates from)
• use one of their forenames as a family name (usually the last one)
• register their forename twice, if they only have one name (for example, Win Win)

A person can hold two identical names. In these cases, the two names can be combined with one or more name. A person can only use the same name twice, for example:

• Aung Aung Win
• Kyawt Kay Kay Khine
• Wunn Htet Htet

Rohingyas are an Islamic group in Myanmar (Burma). Most Rohingyas have an Islamic name as well as their Myanmar name.

Name prefixes are often used as a title before the name. In some scenarios, what can appear to be two identical names may actually be a title and a forename. In these cases, it can be often unclear what use applies, and whether the name is a title or a forename.

A name prefix may be shown on documents provided by the customer to confirm the name they use for official purposes.

Examples of common name prefixes in Myanmar (Burma) include:

• for women:
  • Daw – for adult women
  • Ma – for young women and girls
  • Mai
  • Shin
  • Thankinma
  • Yemay
  • Sayama
• for men:
  • U – for adult men
  • Ko – for young men
  • Maung – for boys
  • Ko Yin
  • Thakin
  • Yebaw
  • Bo

Change of name

Name changes are legal in Myanmar (Burma).

Name alignment

HM Passport Office will add an observation to the British passport referencing the name shown in the foreign passport if:

• the customer is unable to align their Myanmar (Burma) passport, and can provide evidence to support this; or,
• admin fairness has been applied and we do not ask for alignment; and
• no exceptions apply as shown in the guidance, Names: aligning names on foreign documents

Myanmar (Burma): nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Myanmar (Burma).

Dual nationality is not recognised in Myanmar (Burma).

Myanmar (Burma): legitimacy

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy in Myanmar (Burma).

Legitimacy

Myanmar (Burma) recognises a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births.

A child will be considered:

• legitimate:
  • if their parents were married at the time of birth
  • from the time the parents marry after the child’s birth
• illegitimate if their parents never marry

Myanmar (Burma): documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents in Myanmar (Burma).

Birth certificates

Citizens born in remote areas of Myanmar (Burma) may not be issued with a birth certificate.

Copies of the birth certificate are generally not available.

Marriage certificates

Courts in Myanmar (Burma) will only issue a marriage certificate where at least one of the married parties is a Myanmar citizen.

A marriage certificate will be issued for marriages involving at least one Christian spouse.

Marriages in Myanmar (Burma) between two Muslim spouses are not registered. Islamic marriages are recorded in a deed of marriage signed by the Muslim religious official.

Marriages in Myanmar (Burma) between couples of another, or no faith are not registered. These couples often provide notarised marriage affidavits which are not accepted as legal documents in Myanmar (Burma).