More and more, Myanmar is opening up to international companies, investors, and workforce alike to empower many of its commercial sectors. Myanmar employers now more than ever have the opportunity to employ foreign nations remotely or residing in Myanmar and leverage them to add value to their business. Foreign employees embody many desirable assets in demand in the corporate landscape: superior command of English and potentially other foreign languages, international exposure, a quality education, and unique perspectives just to name a few. Hiring foreign employees is not without its fair share of risks and there are several legal hurdles that can delay the process of employing someone from another country. Here below is a list of four legal and administrative factors to be taken into consideration before employing someone of foreign nationality.

Nationality

Many foreigners will migrate to Myanmar either for a job or for settling down, and companies might find a fair share of different nationalities among them optimal for recruitment. Certain employers might have specifications on nationals they want to onboard for several reasons. For example, foreigners from neighboring countries or other Asian countries might be more familiar with the markets in Myanmar due to demographic and cultural proximity. Recruiting such nationals might ease the need to conduct an extended job orientation, thereby engaging them faster with their daily responsibilities. Western nationals, on the other hand, might take somewhat longer to get accustomed to the culture and perhaps the nature of their work environment. They also might command a different salary than most of their Asian equivalents due to higher compensation standards from opportunities in their home country. It is important to balance if they can add diverse values, skillsets, and contributions that cannot be accessed in any other local or even Asian workforce.

Immigration Status

Not every foreign employee applying for a job already has a plan or the legal permission to work locally for an extended period of time. Foreigners might apply for a job in another country for several reasons; perhaps they want to acquire international work experience or fund themselves during an extended stay abroad. The bottom line is not every foreign job applicant is legally allowed to work in Myanmar for a long time at the time of application. Unless they are expatriates settling in Myanmar and familiar with the business framework of the country, there is always a need to ask for their immigration status and determine if they are eligible to stay in the country for a minimum period of time you intend to employ them as per contract.

Visa Plan and Work Permit

In addition to immigration status, a legitimately working foreigner in any country should have a valid visa and a work permit that allows them to stay in that country for an extended period of time for business interests. Single entry business visas in Myanmar allows for a foreigner to stay in the country for up to 70 days. Multiple entry visa allows a non-Myanmar national to stay up to six months or one year in country however the foreigner is expected to have successfully applied for and received three separate single entry visas previously to be eligible for a multiple entry visa, although there are a few exceptions considered on a case-by-case basis. In addition to these visas, foreigners looking to stay employed in Myanmar should also be issued a suitable work permit that falls under one of two categories - stay permit and multiple re-entry permit. These work permits allow foreigners to work in Myanmar from three months up to one year and are renewable upon expiry.

Legal Entities

In addition to Myanmar’s employment and labour laws, rules and policies on how to treat an employee of a particular nation are also worth knowing. Foreign nationals in a different country are usually protected by the regulations of their own countries; legal entities like Embassies and Chambers of Commerce have adequate online resources and personnel who can further advise companies on getting familiar with legal aspects of recruiting an employee from another country. Many employers may not go this far to recruit a foreigner, but if your company is a predominantly international one with many spots available for foreign recruits, then going through these administrative steps is something worth doing. Besides immigration status, visa, and work permit, a foreigner’s background on criminal records, credit history and other legally sensitive matters should be addressed on a priority basis before giving him or her any job offer.

The process of hiring a foreigner for your company could really be a taxing ordeal given the legal complexities and administrative procedures you have to go through if not done thoroughly, but foreigners can really be a diverse asset to your company if onboarded right. They can also create an international atmosphere that could be a strong distinguishing factor for your employer brand. International employees can also add value to your local employees by giving them a work setting conducive for communication via foreign language(s), thus providing them with new learning opportunities every day. Therefore, foreign employees, while being an unusual staffing alternative for many Myanmar companies, can bring about many HR benefits in the long run that can compensate the risk involved.