2 Million Stateless People To Get Thai Citizenship

IMMIGRATION: Cabinet backs citizenship plan

Move could see about 2 million stateless residents of Kingdom becoming Thai

BANGKOK: -- The Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to grant Thai citizenship to around two million stateless people living in the Kingdom.

These naturalised Thais, however, will not be eligible for the government’s Bt30-per-visit medical scheme, a source said.

The move is aimed at tackling problems arising from stateless people’s lack of legal status or rights, deputy government spokesman Danuporn Punnakanta said.

The plan will cover various groups of stateless people, including children studying at schools inside Thailand and immigrants who have been living in Thailand for at least 10 consecutive years, he said.

The Cabinet has assigned the Interior Ministry to consult with the Budget Bureau to determine how much the plan would cost, a source said. Previously, the Interior Ministry requested more than Bt250 million for the plan.

“Out of security concerns, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra emphasised the process must be carefully implemented. The premier also required that measures be implemented to prevent duplicate registrations, because [artificially] high population counts could affect the country’s economy,” the source said.

Thaksin also suggested the stateless people be required to pay registration fees, the source said.

In response to a question from Public Health Minister Pinij Charusombat, Thaksin said naturalised Thais were not entitled to join the government’s Bt30-per-visit medical scheme, the source said.

--The Nation 2006-01-11