International NGOs, charitable and voluntary organization such as those promoting social work, education, music, dance, theater or art that are recognized by Myanmar government as working for the benefits of Myanmar citizen and contribute to a strong civil society can now register under Association Registration Law.
There are 2 category of organization that can be formed:
- Local Myanmar non-profit civil society with Myanmar citizen only as members (i.e. no foreign nationals are allowed as members) are termed as Local Organization. Local organization is treated as a local legal entity and must have at least 5 members when formed. It has the right to own immovable asset i.e. land; and it can also receive donations from foreign governments and other organizations.
- Organization formed in a foreign country whose mission is to perform social activity in Myanmar must be registered as an International Non Governmental Organization (INGO). INGO is treated as foreign entity that is registered in Myanmar. INGO can include Myanmar citizens as members.
We must emphasize that such an organization must not be commercial, political or religious in nature.
An application for a Registration Certificate would have to be submitted to the Union Registration Committee in Naypyidaw. The registration certificate is valid for 5 years.
I would like to highlight that the process of registering an INGO or a NGO is tedious and takes a long time – a better option is to register a Business Association which can be done within 3 working days here in Yangon. To learn more click here.
If you are an international NGOs and need help with registering your organization in Myanmar please fill up the form below:
