The decision taken by the government to reduce bureaucracy and try to boost the economy. Many had been waiting for years to receive the documents and now they will finally have access to a series of rights. Without this amnesty, children born to ethnic minority parents would have taken up to 44 years to receive citizenship.
Bangkok () – More than 483,000 people belonging to ethnic minorities and indigenous groups will receive Thai citizenship and will thus have access to a series of services from which they were until now excluded. The decision was announced on October 29 by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra at the proposal of the National Security Council, which plays an advisory role in territorial integrity and defense matters.
The prime minister stated that 483,626 people belonging to ethnic minorities were waiting for documents. “It is not a specific ethnic group, but several tribes from the hills and mountains who had submitted their application years ago and were waiting for the result, some even for 15 years,” a source told .
According to government officials, without this amnesty, children born today would have had to wait 44 years to obtain citizenship due to bureaucratic delays.
In Thailand, those who belong to recognized tribal groups receive an identity document, but have differentiated access to rights: “Some cannot move from their areas, others have to request permission,” explained the source. With this decision, almost half a million people will now have access to education and healthcare and will be able to regularize their employment status.
Among those who will benefit from the measure are some 335,000 emigrants who lived and worked in Thailand between 1984 and 1999 and between 2005 and 2011.
Approximately another 142,000 are children of ethnic minority parents, some recognized and others undocumented. The Thai government identifies nine “hill tribes”: Hmong, Karen, Lisu, Mien, Akha, Lahu, Lua, Thin and Khamu. But it is estimated that there are at least 70 ethnic groups in Thailand, comprising some 5 million indigenous people, 7.2% of the entire population.
In August this year, some elderly groups asked the government to will speed up the process of obtaining citizenship, after some tribal members died without ever having received their documents.
Many commentators have pointed out that the amnesty also serves to give a new stimulus to the Thai economy, which has slowed somewhat in recent years despite constant growth. Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson Jirayu Huangsap confirmed this view, stressing that the government considered it appropriate to grant citizenship to those who had been working in Thailand for a long time so that they could travel freely and continue contributing to national economic development.
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