CNI News

3 October 2024

Issuance of documents for residence permit undocumented migrant workers and their children should be facilitated, those helping migrant workers told CNI News. 

The Thai government made a decision to allow undocumented migrant workers and their children under 18 to live in Thailand a few days ago.

The processes should be reduced in making documents because undocumented migrant workers have to be paying much more than price designated as it is not easy to apply documents for residence permit, U Aung Kyaw from the Labor Right Foundation (LRF) told CNI News.

" Whatever any documents are made in Thailand, brokers are getting involved in a big way because the Thai authorities can't keep a close watch on them systematically. The processes should be reduced. Because there are many processes, it is kind of paving the way for brokers to get involved." he said.

While seeing Myanmar migrant workers who have held documents

According to the demand from the managing committee on foreign workers, the agreement was reached to allow undocumented migrant workers and their children to live. 

Undocumented workers are registered to be recruits and costs and registration process can be known in detail only after the Thai royal palace permits.

If undocumented migrant workers had children under 18, the children will be allowed to stay with their parents. If the children of undocumented migrant workers were over 18, they would have to register as new workers, U Min Oo, in charge of labor affairs from the Foundation for Education and Development, told CNI News.

While seeing migrant workers in Thailand

" The children under 18 must apply in the offices of the Ministry of Labor in the provinces concerned for their residence permit not for work permit. When undocumented migrant workers register as new workers, they need to submit information and population about their children. when their children are 18, after 60 days, they must apply for a work permit." he said.

Moreover, although a meeting was called in relation to raising basic daily wages to 400 baht in the businesses which have 200 workers above starting from 1st October, the decision was put off because the necessary number of individuals that were to attend didn't show up.

Among those arrested during the 120 day plan since the middle of this year, nearly 200,000 Myanmar citizens were arrested.