Miss Myanmar, who sought refuge in Thailand after criticizing the ruling military council in her home country, left Bangkok heading to Canada where she is expected to seek asylum.

Han Lay, 23 years old, captured international attention with her emotional speech during the finals of the Miss Grand International pageant in Myanmar in 2021 when she raised a sign that read "Pray for Myanmar" to raise awareness of human rights atrocities committed by military council officials.

She received death threats after the speech and decided not to return home after the competition – which was held in Thailand.

However, she appeared to face the risk of deportation after returning to Thailand last Wednesday following a trip to Vietnam.

Officials stopped her at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok and said they discovered an issue with her passport, and since then she has been out of sight.

Han Lay said, posting on her official Facebook account on Thursday, that she arrived in Canada and thanked her fans and the public for their support.

She wrote: "I safely arrived in Canada today." "A new chapter and a new life - I will do my best to help my beloved country Myanmar and its people as much as I can."

She had previously told CNN that she wanted to seek political asylum in Canada despite her desire to stay in Thailand.

Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch, said: "Han Lay was a victim of a deliberate political act by the military council to make her stateless when she returned to Thailand coming from Vietnam last week," adding that she "was not the first."