Welfare card screening rejects 9.3m applicants

Thailand's stricter State Welfare Programme screening has left 9.3 million of 18.8 million applicants disqualified, triggering complaints that inaccurate official records have shut out people in genuine hardship.

People's Party deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakun said the new process, which cross-checks tax, property, vehicle and bank records, appeared designed to reduce the number of recipients by almost 30%.

Only 9.5 million applicants met the requirements in the 2026 registration round, compared with 13.2 million current cardholders.

Budget cuts and stricter checks

Ms Sirikanya, a party-list MP, said the Finance Ministry had intended from the outset to lower the number of welfare-card recipients.

The programme's budget was reduced to 42 billion baht this year from more than 50 billion baht previously. She said this indicated an intention to cut the recipient total to between 9 million and 10 million.

"The problem is that many people who are genuinely poor and in real hardship have been left out," she said.

She said complaints had been received from applicants who believed they fitted the programme's purpose but had been rejected.

Some found government records wrongly stating that they owned vehicles, apparently because another person had fraudulently used their identity. Others were listed as owning more than 10 rai of land they did not possess, while applicants were disqualified over motorcycles registered in their names but used by relatives.

Ms Sirikanya also argued that fixed thresholds did not always show a person's real financial circumstances. Landowners with more than 10 rai might earn little from it, she said, while small business operators with debts above 100,000 baht could still be struggling despite being excluded.

Appeals system under pressure

Applicants were instructed to appeal through the same channels used for registration, resulting in overcrowding at banks. The programme website told people to contact the agency holding the disputed information.

Ms Sirikanya said the Department of Land Transport, responsible for vehicle records, had been overwhelmed and its telephone hotlines could not be reached. She blamed poor preparation by the Finance Ministry, particularly the Office of the Permanent Secretary, for failing to coordinate an appeals system with other agencies.

She said an initial 30-billion-baht allocation for fiscal 2026 would have reduced beneficiaries by about half. The allocation later rose to 42 billion baht for fiscal 2027, enough to cover nearly 10 million recipients.

Minister says aid must reach the poorest

Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas defended the screening while accompanying Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on an official visit to Shanghai, China.

He said broader database checks covering tax, land, income and vehicle ownership were intended to ensure support reached only genuinely poor people.

"Welfare budgets are limited, so this card should go to those who have virtually nothing, such as bedridden elderly people with no income," he said.

Picture courtesy of Bangkokpost

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19 July 2026