Executive Summary: "In the course of cross-border migration from Myanmar, many who are involved in the migration process such as migrants, their families, money lenders, brokers, transnational money transferors, etc., intentionally or unintentionally maintain the status of illegality. However, with the objective to negotiate their own way into the new livelihood space to secure their share of development through migration, they see their exercises in maintaining illegality as licit behavior, which is considered legitimate, given the social context in which they live. The gap between what is considered illegal by the state and as illicit by the people gets wider. It is easy for those who are involved in the migration process to define the thin line between illegal and illicit behavior – from their own social perception – which can never be identified or recognized by the existing legal system in any country. Strong social connections and networks of some ethnic groups that have been in existence for a long time between Myanmar and its neighboring countries have fueled cross-border human mobility in both directions, regardless of legal border restrictions. Migration is often seen by the countries of destination as a threat to national security and by the country of origin as a problem to be solved. These negative perceptions got worse when crossborder migration became more dynamic, taking place in various informal/ illegal forms. Most studies attempted to highlight push and pull factors of this dynamic cross-border migration from Myanmar, as well as the living and working conditions of Myanmar migrants living abroad and their remittances. However, there are very few studies that shed light on the course of cross-border migration from Myanmar from the view of migrants, their families and their home community, and its implications on them. Millions of Myanmar migrants are working under undesirable and vulnerable conditions in foreign countries far away from their families. Most of them got into such situations voluntarily, in order to improve the livelihood of their families, and to provide education and health care for their children at home. Although most of them are illegal migrant workers, they are far from being criminals. They are making important sacrifices and live ?borrowed lives? in order to send money back home to help their families. They are just ordinary people trying to make ends meet, and for their extraordinary sacrifices, they are considered heroes by their families. Most people in the countries of destination normally hear a single story about illegal migrant workers. There are endless stories of illegal migrants portraying them as people who are sneaking across the border, stealing the jobs of local people, committing crimes, etc. Most people have been so immersed with negative media coverage that migrants have become one thing in their mind, the bad guys. It may not be fair if the bad behavior of few unscrupulous illegal migrants is considered representative of the millions of them working under very hard conditions, simply to provide bread and butter for their families back home and contributing to increased production and economic development in the country of destination. Although the acts of professional traffickers – who are committing serious crimes of human trafficking across borders that have a series of negative social impacts, not only on trafficked victims, but also on the families of those victims – are perceived as illicit, the acts of local brokers who facilitate voluntary cross-border migration of ordinary people (exploring job opportunities across the border) at a reasonable fee, and finding appropriate jobs for them (through their social connections in the country of destination), are not considered illicit by most local people. Far from being thought of as criminals, their services create win-win situations and are considered essential, and their actions – that may have flouted the state?s rules and regulations – cause no victims. This paper highlights the perception of each and everyone involved in the course of cross-border migration from Myanmar in each step they, internationally or unintentionally, maintain the status of illegality. It also attempts to identify the implications of cross-border migration on migrants? families and their community in the country of origin. Interviews and questionnaire surveys conducted in different projects in 2008 and 2009 in different places in Myanmar and neighboring countries, coupled with qualitative and quantitative analyses, attempt to enhance the reliability and representativeness of the findings in this paper."