This legal training is the collaboration between Kwah Dao Foundation, Child’s Dream Foundation, and Shan Youth Power conducted on the 7th and 8th of October 2023 at Neau Klow Scout Camp, Lanna Human Resources Development Center. The purpose of this training is to educate the stateless, nationality-less, and migrant students currently living in Chiang Mai about nationality law, civil registration law, immigration law, and the procedure for applying for better civil registration status in Thailand such as 1) applying for Thai citizenship for the students who were born in Thailand or acquiring Thai citizenship by naturalization for those who were not born in Thailand, 2) applying for permanent residency for the students who were not born in Thailand but currently holding the Highlander Card or Person With No Registration Status Card issued by the Department of Provincial Administration, the Ministry of Interior of Thailand, 3) solving the problem for the students who lacked civil registration document and determined as G Code students instead or applying for Person With No Registration Status Card for the students who have been living in Thailand without any identity documents, stateless students.
There were 48 stateless, nationality-less, and migrant students from middle school to higher education in Chiang Mai who participated in this training. Over 60 percent of these students were born in Thailand and the rest of them were not or have not been able to prove their birth status. For those who were born in Thailand and were the children of those who are holding Highlander Card or Person With No Registration Status Card, Thai citizenship is entitled by the current Thai nationality law and the application can be proceeded immediately. For those who were born to migrant parents holding passport from Myanmar, they were entitled with Thai citizenship too but with special condition that a bachelor degree is needed in order to apply for Thai citizenship. From the instant surveys, around 99 percent of them have no intention of going back to The Union of Myanmar where their parents were from because of the political chaos, war, and human rights violations. Most of them prefer Thai citizenship and live their lives in Thailand after graduate from higher education.
The two-day legal training covered the following topics lectured by attorney Jarudech Pechpoom:
- Acquiring Thai citizenship under section 23 of Thai Nationality Law
- Acquiring Thai citizenship under section 7 bis paragraph two of Nationality Law
- Acquiring Thai citizenship by marraige under section 9 of Thai Nationality Law
- Acquiring Thai citizenship by naturalization under section 10, 11, and 12 of Thai Nationality Law
- Acquiring permanent residency under section 17 of Thai Immigration Law
- Solving G Code students’ civil registration and acquiring Person With No Registration Status Card section 38 paragraph two of Thai Civil Registration Law
What does stateless person mean?
Stateless people are individuals who lack any kind of official identity document and are not recognized as citizens by any country in the world. As a result of being stateless, these people will also become nationality-less automatically.
What were the major causes of statelessness in Thailand in the past?
The prolonged and ongoing civil war in Myanmar has caused significant hardship for its people. Since gaining independence in 1947, Myanmar’s military and ethnic armed groups have been in constant conflict for over seven decades. This has led to political, economic, and social instability, particularly in ethnic areas where human rights violations were serious. To quash the ethnic armed groups, the military implemented a four-cut strategy in several states such as Shan State, Karen State, and other regions, which has resulted in widespread human rights abuses including rape, torture, and genocide. According to the Shan Human Rights Foundation, over 400,000 people from 1,800 villages in 15 townships in central and southern Shan State were forced to leave their homes during operations between 1996 and 1998. A large number of people fled to the border of northern Thailand and became refugees.
There are many refugees from several conflict zones who flee to Thailand. Only a few individuals are able to obtain refugee status and live in refugee camps. However, others are not that lucky and need to work as illegal migrant laborers in order to survive. Even though they can work for a living, but due to being stateless or nationality-less and lack legal protection, exploitation is found very often. Moreover, they have limited rights in traveling, picking careers as well as facing limitations in accessing basic services such as healthcare services, and educational opportunities. Thus, stateless or nationality-less are crucial issues that affect hundreds of thousands of lives in Thailand.
Are there still stateless people in Thailand?
Yes, there are. However, the exact number can’t be verified because it depends on the political situation in Myanmar. In recent years, a new wave of refugees and migrants fled into Thailand because of the conflict between Myanmar’s military and pro-democracy protesters, Myanmar’s military and ethnic armed groups, and the conflict among ethnic armed groups. According to an anonymous source, these people need to pay around 7,000 – 12,000 baht per person to migrant smugglers to travel from Tachileik, Shan State of Myanmar to Chiang Mai or Bangkok of Thailand during normal situations. The rate goes much higher during special situations such as the Thai–Myanmar border closure, or the cracking down on illegal foreign labor which is occasionally conducted by the Thai Immigration Police.
When will they become stateless people and what problems will they face after that?
Once they successfully made an illegal entry into Thailand, the de jure statelessness for those who lacked any kind of identity document from Myanmar automatically started. Lacking identity documents has several causes such as 1) fighting, torture, and violation of human rights which forced these people to flee from their hometown to new places from time to time, generation to generation, and dare not or were unable to return home before they end up in a new country, Thailand, 2) people living in the very remote areas or in constant fighting zones where the government ignore to issue identity document. For those refugees or migrants who hold identity documents from Myanmar, they will become de facto stateless people because they no longer gain legal protection from their government for illegal entry into another country.
These people have to live in very difficult situations to avoid being arrested for illegal entry or working without a work permit. Some need to find a job with risky working conditions, face workplace abuse, or do not receive their wages. These problems happen because they have no access to legal protection and some employers take advantage of it. Their children too face a sad consequence because they won’t be sent to school for a year or longer unless the parents or guardians obtain some kind of identity documents from the Thai government or Myanmar government. Even though these children are entitled by international law that they have the right to education whether they are stateless or not, but the parents restrained themselves as they are afraid of being arrested and deported if they are found living in Thailand illegally when enrolling their kids in schools.
How long will it take to end their statelessness?
It depends on when will these people enter the legal process provided by both the Thai and Myanmar governments. They can decide to go with one of the following options.
1) Apply for a “Person with No Registration Status” ID Card
From May 15, 2019, onward, the Thai Central of Registration Office passed a new law allowing any individual who is living in Thailand without holding any official identity document from any country can apply for a “Person with No Registration Status” ID card also known as a “10 years” card. The process can take months or longer depending on which district office and how serious the corruption situation is in that office. According to the law, the applicant is required to pay the processing fee in a very small amount. In reality, it involves bribes and corruption which lead to a demand of money from the applicant up to 80,000 baht per person in 2023 in some district offices. The person who obtains this ID card can temporarily reside in Thailand with limited rights. Those who obtain the card less than 5 years from the date of issuance need to reside in a specified control area meaning they can’t request traveling permission to other provinces and won’t have the right to access free medical services during these 5 years.
2) Register as “New Migrant Workers”
This is the MOU between the Thai and Myanmar governments in solving the illegal labor problems. Occasionally, the Thai government will announce for registration of new migrant workers and their children who have entered and worked in Thailand illegally. These people need to pass the nationality verification process to obtain a certificate of identity from the Myanmar Civil Registration Office for the initial step. This process can take up to three months to complete with expenses of up to 20,000 baht per person. These migrant workers can live in Thailand as long as the Thai government recognizes the necessity of these workers to Thai entrepreneurs. According to Foreign Workers Administration Office statistics in August 2023, there are 1,851,512 migrant workers from Myanmar excluding their children and followers.
Who are nationality-less people in Thailand?
Nationality-less refers to 1) ethnic groups, hill tribes, refugees, and migrants, who fled CLMV countries because of the civil war, political conflict, and human rights violations, and have been residing in Thailand for a prolonged period (including their children who were born in Thailand) and have obtained a “Highlander Identification Card’ issued by the Thai Department of Provincial Administration from 1989 to 1999, 2) those who have obtained “Person with No Registration Status Card” issued from 2005 to 2011, and 3) those who have obtained “Person with No Registration Status Card” from May 15 2019 onward. According to the Department of Provincial Administration in 2022, there are 689,641 people who remain nationality-less among them are students.
These people cannot access the same level of services and benefits as fully recognized citizens. They must live in the specified control areas and request permission from the district official before traveling to other provinces. They can only work in the field specified by the Ministry of Labor, the students cannot access some educational opportunities such as student loans or scholarships provided by the Thai government agencies until they obtain Thai citizenship, and they cannot own land or house lawfully.
How can they solve the nationality-less problem?
Solving this problem is challenging and exhausting because of its complexity and corruption. The applicants are required by law to pay a small amount of fee, but due to corruption officials in some district offices, they need to pay a minimum of 25,000 – 35,000 baht per person to the officials in order to process their applications. Plus, each group has its requirements for applying for Thai citizenship as classified in the following.
1) Those who were born in Thailand (most targets are students)
– If they are children of the 1st or 2nd group, they can apply for Thai citizenship mediately regardless of their education level.
– If they are children of the 3rd group, they can apply for Thai citizenship after they complete higher education. This condition also applies to migrant workers’ children who are born in Thailand.
2) Those who were not born in Thailand (most targets are parents and some students)
– The parents in the 1st and 2nd groups can apply for permanent residency in Thailand. Once they become permanent residents of Thailand for 5 years, then they can apply for Thai citizenship through naturalization. This condition also applies to students who were not born in Thailand but have obtained the identification card in the same period of time as the 1st and 2nd groups mentioned earlier.
3) Those who are not in the groups mentioned above
– These groups of people and students have not obtained the right to apply for Thai citizenship and need to wait for the nationality law amendment in the future.
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