Thailand To Enforce Worker Nationality Checks

[churchill]

Thailand to enforce worker nationality checks

Workers from Laos, Burma and Cambodia working in Thailand must apply to verify their country of origin by the end of next month despite the Thai cabinet this weekend extending the deadline for nationality verification by another two years.

The Bangkok Post reports the Thai cabinet this week extend the deadline to February 2012.

However, the deputy director-general of the employment department, Suphat Kukhun, says migrant workers from Laos, Burma and Cambodia whose work permits were due to expire will be regarded as illegal workers if they fail to apply by the end of February.

Workers who fail to verify their nationality could be arrested and deported if caught.

Human rights activist Somchai Homlaor says there are about 1.4 million migrant workers from Laos, Cambodia and Burma in Thailand, but only about 10,000 have been verified.

http://australianetworknews.com/stories/20...275.htm?desktop

2010-01-21

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[Soutpeel]

Strange article....one would assume if these persons have a work permit, surely their nationalities would have been verified on issue of the work permit ???

[SeanMoran]

Strange article....one would assume if these persons have a work permit, surely their nationalities would have been verified on issue of the work permit ???

I'm hoping for my imaginary friend's sake that it might be an amnesty for those who don't.

It would be very nice to find more information on this news story before the next month runs out, for I don't think she reads a lot of newspapers or watches the news on tv, and it would be good for her and good for the people she works for if it could be made all nice and legal and official, and I'd be happy to try to help out with the paperwork fees if I can.

[Rooo]

Moved to news.

[samran]

Strange article....one would assume if these persons have a work permit, surely their nationalities would have been verified on issue of the work permit ???

No. In the past, migrant workers from Laos, Cambodia and Burma have only needed to state that their nationality under the migrant worker scheme to be eligible. The could have actually been from Latvia, Cameroon and Barbados.

Registration to be a legal migrant worker has opened up once a year, in June, for one month only. Previously they had been issued work papers and a temp ID card.

The new nationality checking process is something just completed by my maid, who is burmese and legal under the old scheme. A couple of months ago she submitted her Burmese ID and other vital info which was sent off to the authorities in Burma. They sent back an verification and some documentation and she was asked to travel back to a Burmese border town to have a 2 year passport processed which is only good for travel to Thailand.

With this in hand, she re-crossed the border and was given a 2 year non-immigrant visa. Her current (old system) work permit expires in Feb so she is off to renew it shortly.

But by all accounts, this system is working only very slowly, so it is probably why the govt has extended the deadline.

Those who are registered under the old system need to at least register for verificaion of nationality by Feb. Those who don't will have their current stay under the old system expire. Those who have registered for verficiation (but haven't received a certification from their home country) will be able to extend their stay under the old system.

The big question will be however, how new migrants will register for the migrant labour scheme. That remains to be seen.

Edited January 21, 2010 by samran

[SeanMoran]

Thank you very much for the explanation, Samran. I will consider this carefully before I speak to my imaginary friend next week, and perhaps find the means that she might qualify for this verification as a Burmese citizen working in a manual labouring occupation for less than the minimum wage in Thailand.

If I might ask, would Australian nationality be acceptible for this kind of migrant-worker scheme?, for I'm in need of a job at around the end of the next month.

[mythBuster]

Well this government does not have any trouble with violating basic human rights, so this does not come as a surprise. First we sent the Hmong to Laos, where they are now imprisoned and tortured (See the UN reports and the US reports) before we had the boat people from which the motor was wrecked and who were towed to open see, now the millions of Burmese who fled in most cases and who will be prosecuted back home when they register. If anyone ever looked at a border crossing with Burma it becomes obvious that people with the right paper (workpermit etc) have to hide it when passing through customs.

But than again with such a low Thai unemployment reported by the government the jobs Burmese take cannot be filled anyhow. Or were the figures a sham after all? I guess the latter is the case.

[Mosha]

The ruling is already being enforced in Ranong. As their re-registration is due the Burmese are told to go to the appropriate office and then immigration for expulsion. Yes the paper work uses that word. They go home and get a passport. Thankfully the wait is hours. They come back and get a 1 year visa reporting every 90 days.

[samran]

Well this government does not have any trouble with violating basic human rights, so this does not come as a surprise. First we sent the Hmong to Laos, where they are now imprisoned and tortured (See the UN reports and the US reports) before we had the boat people from which the motor was wrecked and who were towed to open see, now the millions of Burmese who fled in most cases and who will be prosecuted back home when they register. If anyone ever looked at a border crossing with Burma it becomes obvious that people with the right paper (workpermit etc) have to hide it when passing through customs.

But than again with such a low Thai unemployment reported by the government the jobs Burmese take cannot be filled anyhow. Or were the figures a sham after all? I guess the latter is the case.

what are you talking about? It has to be one of the more silliest posts I've seen, relating to two unrelated actions by the Thai government.

This is a programme which allows burmese to work legally in Thailand, with the right papers.

Having access to the right papers means they are poperly documented and have access to all the social services available to other Thai's. It means they can walk the street and go about their lives without remaining in an illegal immigrant underworld.

[Garry9999]

It's all part of the latest round of ethnic cleaning. Immigrant workers, Hmong refugees, Cambodian beggars, Burmese Rohingyas, Falang bar owners etc.

Thai love Thai

[brownlegs]

It's all part of the latest round of ethnic cleaning. Immigrant workers, Hmong refugees, Cambodian beggars, Burmese Rohingyas, Falang bar owners etc.

Thai love Thai

But it does not apply to the African drug dealer as they have Thai police as partners.

[samran]

It's all part of the latest round of ethnic cleaning. Immigrant workers, Hmong refugees, Cambodian beggars, Burmese Rohingyas, Falang bar owners etc.

Thai love Thai

But it does not apply to the African drug dealer as they have Thai police as partners.

What are you two talking about? This programme is all about having people be able to stay legally with full access to social services...

You guys are on another planet.

[samran]

Strange article....one would assume if these persons have a work permit, surely their nationalities would have been verified on issue of the work permit ???

No. In the past, migrant workers from Laos, Cambodia and Burma have only needed to state that their nationality under the migrant worker scheme to be eligible. The could have actually been from Latvia, Cameroon and Barbados.

Registration to be a legal migrant worker has opened up once a year, in June, for one month only. Previously they had been issued work papers and a temp ID card.

The new nationality checking process is something just completed by my maid, who is burmese and legal under the old scheme. A couple of months ago she submitted her Burmese ID and other vital info which was sent off to the authorities in Burma. They sent back an verification and some documentation and she was asked to travel back to a Burmese border town to have a 2 year passport processed which is only good for travel to Thailand.

With this in hand, she re-crossed the border and was given a 2 year non-immigrant visa. Her current (old system) work permit expires in Feb so she is off to renew it shortly.

But by all accounts, this system is working only very slowly, so it is probably why the govt has extended the deadline.

Those who are registered under the old system need to at least register for verificaion of nationality by Feb. Those who don't will have their current stay under the old system expire. Those who have registered for verficiation (but haven't received a certification from their home country) will be able to extend their stay under the old system.

The big question will be however, how new migrants will register for the migrant labour scheme. That remains to be seen.

There won't be an amnesty per se, but there will be at some point this year (based on past experinece, in june) where people who are flying under the radar can go legal.

This happened with our maid, who when we hired her gave us the wrong expiry date on her old work permit. When it expired, that was it, so she was technically illegal for 5 months till we could re-register her during the normal registration period.

[zzaa09]

It's all part of the latest round of ethnic cleaning. Immigrant workers, Hmong refugees, Cambodian beggars, Burmese Rohingyas, Falang bar owners etc.

Thai love Thai

And this, coming from an already anxious officialdom that is seemingly concerned with the possibility of future worker shortages and creation of employment.

[Garry9999]

It's all part of the latest round of ethnic cleaning. Immigrant workers, Hmong refugees, Cambodian beggars, Burmese Rohingyas, Falang bar owners etc.

Thai love Thai

But it does not apply to the African drug dealer as they have Thai police as partners.

What are you two talking about? This programme is all about having people be able to stay legally with full access to social services...

You guys are on another planet.

Yes Planet Thai, where everyone who is not Thai is looked down upon.

BTW - what social services are you referring too?

Edited January 27, 2010 by Garry9999