Regularisation of Migrants​

Overview

Since the 1980s, large numbers of migrant workers from Cambodia, Myanmar, and Lao PDR have migrated across porous borders to Thailand and contributed significantly to its economic and cultural development. Over the years, the Thai government has developed a number of systems for the regularisation of these migrants (to learn more about these processes, please refer to the Resource Hub section below). Attempts to meet labour demands and manage migration at the same time, have resulted in ad hoc registration policies that have been developed with little long-term vision. Restrictive conditions attached to registration also have the opposite outcome of protecting migrants.

A border crossing between Poi Pet, Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia and Aranyaprathet, Sa Kaeo, Thailand (Photo: MMN/ John Hulme)

MMN urges governments to enhance and strengthen efforts to facilitate safe and regular migration in order to prevent situations where immigration enforcement action becomes necessary. Regularisation policies should be developed with meaningful input from migrant workers and sufficiently reflect their needs and demands. 

Along with our focus on the theme of arrest, detention and deportation (ADD), MMN regularly monitors and conducts research on regularisation policies and their impacts on migrants. Based on migrants’ input and demands, MMN advocates for governments of destination countries and countries of origin to enhance collaboration in making migration mechanisms simpler, faster, cheaper, and more accessible to migrant workers.

Related Initiatives

In June 2014, a sudden spike in the arrest and deportation of migrant workers in Thailand reportedly led to over 220,000 Cambodian migrants being repatriated or leaving Thailand within just a two-week period. This proved to be one of the largest mass movements of people in Southeast Asia since the 1970s and, in the face of this unprecedented phenomenon, both governmental and non-governmental agencies were struggling to meet the needs of those who returned to Cambodia…

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A key area of MMN’s work since its founding has been to monitor and advocate for reform of the law, policy and procedures governing the arrest, detention, and deportation (ADD) of migrants. The use and misuse of these immigration powers continues to be a matter of serious concern as they negatively impact the daily lives of migrants and are at the root of various human rights violations…

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The idea for From our Eyes: Migrant Reflection was born at the workshop on Migration Trends and Responses in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and Beyond, held on 31 August 2010 in Chiang Mai, and co-organised by MMN, MAP Foundation, and the Asian Migrant Centre. At the workshop, two migrant worker leaders presented on the impacts of policy changes on migrant lives. Their reflections were insightful and informative, and highlighted the largely untapped value of migrant contributions to policy making.

Inspired by the presentations of the migrant leaders, MMN, in collaboration with members of the migrant community, decided to conduct this initiative to record further analyses and perspectives of migrants on changes over the past decade…

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As information regarding policies concerning the arrest, detention, and deportation (ADD) of migrants was scarce in the 2000s, MMN organised a symposium held in September 2004  to initiate dialogue with policy makers and civil society representatives…

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This publication includes proceedings from the Mekong Symposium entitled, “Protecting Migrants’ Rights When They Leave the Host Country”, co-organised by MMN, Action Network for Migrants (AMN), MAP Foundation, Asian Migrant Centre, and IOM on 30 September–2 October 2004, in Chiang Mai, Thailand…

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Publications

Resource Hub

Regularisation of Migrants in Thailand

Read an introduction of the current systems concerning the regularisation of migrants in Thailand

Migration in Thailand: Timeline of Facts and Figures

Read about the development of Thailand's regularisation policies between 2004 and 2013, presented in a timeline format.