Biometric enrolment of 58% of Myanmar refugees in Mizoram completed

The Mizoram government has completed biometric registration of 58.15% of 31,214 refugees from Myanmar protected in 11 districts of the state, officials in Aizawl said on Wednesday (November 19, 2025).

Authorities also collected biometric and biographical data of 10.84% ​​of 2,354 refugees from Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), officials said.

The exercise was affected by slow or no internet connectivity and difficulties identifying refugees living outside designated relief camps. But the success so far is seen as significant due to the State government’s previous stance that the collection of biometric data would amount to “discrimination against people who are our blood and related siblings”.

Chin people from Myanmar have been flocking to Mizoram since the military coup in the neighboring country in February 2021. Bawms from CHT started taking shelter in Mizoram after a military offensive by Bangladesh armed forces a year later.

ethnically related

The Chins and Bawms are ethnically related to the Mizo majority of Mizoram. The state is also home to around 7,000 people displaced by ethnic conflict in Manipur.

Biometric registration of refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh began in July upon instructions from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is done through the foreign identity portal.

Officials in Mizoram said the majority of Chin refugees from Myanmar reside in Champhai district. Many of the CHT Bawms sought refuge in the Lawngtlai area.

“Topographical and technical issues are hampering the exercise, and internet connectivity is either slow or non-existent in remote areas along international borders. Another problem is identifying refugees residing outside designated relief camps,” said a senior official from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Many refugees from both countries live with relatives or friends or in rented accommodation.