Law

1. Citizenship Law

a. Jus Sanguinis and Jus Soli Provisions

Thai nationality laws, stipulated mainly by the Nationality Act (1965), operate through jus sanguinis and limited jus soli provisions. The law provides that children born to a Thai national parent or parents will be considered citizens no matter the location of their birth. Further, children born in Thailand automatically acquire Thai citizenship under jus soli provisions unless they are born to alien parents, one of whom is a temporary resident, residing in Thailand illegally, or a diplomat. In 2008, the citizenship law was amended to remove some gender discriminatory provisions that denied women the right to confer citizenship to their children on an equal basis as men; however, there still exists a discriminatory provision that is detailed in the administrative barriers section below. There is no definition of or explicit mentioning of a stateless person or statelessness in Thailand’s national citizenship legislation.

b. Naturalized Citizenship

Aliens may apply for naturalization as Thai citizens if they have a domicile in Thailand for at least five years before the date of application, have knowledge of the Thai language, have a steady occupation and good behavior. A simplified process is available to those who have provided a distinguished service to Thailand, are a child or spouse of a Thai citizen, or previously had Thai citizenship. There is no simplified or expedited procedure for naturalization for stateless persons or refugees specifically.

c. Dual Citizenship

Dual citizenship is generally recognized for those with jus soli citizenship in Thailand, although the law tends to be inconsistently implemented. There are no requirements to renounce prior nationality upon naturalization.

2. Treaty Ratification Status

Thailand has ratified ICCPR, ICESCR, ICERD, CRC, and CEDAW; however, the country notably is yet to ratify the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. Thailand has made one notable reservation relating to statelessness on Article 22 of CRC, which affords the rights set out in the Convention to refugee and asylum-seeking children.

In 2017, the Human Rights Committee expressed concerns in its concluding observations about the high number of stateless persons in Thailand, especially considering the lack of access to basic services, lack of access to education for stateless children, and increased vulnerability of stateless persons to human trafficking. This concern was echoed in 2022 concluding observations by the CERD Committee. It was recommended that Thailand ensure that rural and isolated populations are informed of and have access to processes that relate to citizenship acquisition. The Committee also raised concern over “reports of discrimination and violence against” groups including stateless people as well as travel restrictions enforced on migrants with regularized status. Further, it was mentioned that the lack of protection for indigenous persons and communities causes them to endure discrimination, specifically with regard to acquisition of citizenship. The CESCR Committee also expressed concerns in its concluding observations over Thailand’s lack of recognition of indigenous peoples. As a party to ICCPR, Thailand is committed to ensuring that every child has the right to acquire a nationality as well as to guarantee non-discrimination in the enjoyment of rights.

In its 2022 concluding observations, the CERD Committee recognized the lack of disaggregated data on population demographics, in particular for indigenous peoples, ethnic and ethno-religious groups, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons, to be able to evaluate the protection of the rights enjoyed by these groups. The Committee was also concerned about “reports of collection of DNA samples from stateless persons living in southern border provinces and remote areas as a means to prove their right to citizenship”. It was recommended that Thailand abolish this discriminatory practice and instead increase efforts to ensure access to birth registration and citizenship for all. By ratifying the ICERD, Thailand has committed itself to ensure no discrimination based on nationality or legal status as well as the right to a nationality.

Due to barriers including language, living in remote areas, and limited awareness of Thai laws, ethnic and ethno-religious groups, indigenous peoples, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons are often unable to access legal aid, which Thailand could amend by eliminating such barriers. Further, during COVID-19, Thailand did not provide socioeconomic relief packages to those without identity documents, compounding the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on stateless persons. In response, Thailand stated that two health care schemes were available to stateless persons during the pandemic; however, the CERD Committee found this response unsatisfactory as the mentioned groups included in the health schemes are not included in the primary public health service system.

Concluding observations by the CEDAW Committee in 2017 cited concerns over the remaining gender discriminatory provisions in Thailand’s citizenship legislation which applies “stricter conditions for Thai women to confer their nationality on foreign spouses”. As a party to CEDAW as well as ICCPR, the country is obligated to ensure gender equality in its nationality laws.

The CEDAW Committee was also concerned that men are prioritized to register for citizenship over women in ethnic minority and indigenous communities, leaving many women in these communities stateless. This results in affected women having “restricted freedom of movement and limited access to education, employment, health care, and social protection”. Further, the Committee highlighted that a significant number of children lack birth registration documents or their births are unregistered, leaving them at risk of statelessness. This was also mentioned in concluding observations by the CRC Committee in 2012, which added that children living in poverty, children of indigenous groups, and migrants are especially vulnerable to non-registration. As a party to CRC, Thailand has committed to ensuring that every birth in its territory is registered immediately and that all children have the right to acquire a nationality.

Status of Accession of International Human Rights Treaties in Southeast Asia

Country	Stateless 1	Stateless 2	Refugee	ICCPR	ICESCR	ICERD	CRC	CEDAW
Thailand

Signifies that the country is a party to the convention

Stateless 1 – 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons

Signifies that the country is not a party to the convention

Stateless 2 – 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness

3. Thailand’s Pledge to End Statelessness

Thailand has endorsed the #IBelong campaign by UNHCR to end statelessness by 2024 as well as committed to ensuring that stateless people have a path to obtaining legal status. As a part of the 2023 Global Refugee Forum, on December 21, 2023, Thailand pledged to “resolve statelessness, with priority being given to children born in Thailand”. The government set out its objectives for resolving statelessness as:

“Developing, within two years, a national action plan on the reduction of statelessness and the management of forcibly displaced persons in Thailand, with priority given to stateless children, and through collaboration between government agencies, private sector, and civil society”;
“Enhancing effectiveness of the systems to facilitate access by stateless persons to civil registration services, with a view to expediting the process for children born in Thailand and the elderly”;
“Reviewing existing laws and regulations related to nationality, civil registration and immigration, in order to facilitate access to legal residence, nationality and civic rights, particularly for children born in Thailand;” as well as
“Cooperating with UNHCR and joining the Global Alliance to End Statelessness”.

Population

1. Reported Stateless Persons

Thailand has the second largest stateless population in Southeast Asia, reporting 574,219 stateless persons to UNHCR in 2022. This figure includes 573,900 stateless persons reported by the Royal Thai Government who are registered in the national civil registration system as well as 321 stateless Rohingya refugees counted by UNHCR. This notably does not include those groups whose births have not been registered. There has been extensive focus from UN agencies, the Thai government and academics on the situation of statelessness in Thailand. Statelessness in Thailand largely affects ethnic minority groups (‘Hill Tribe’ populations) in northern Thailand, specifically near the Thai- Myanmar border. In 2021, it was estimated that 81% of the stateless population in Thailand resides in border areas.

Over the past decade, the Thai government has worked in partnership with UNHCR and NGOs to both expand the rights of non-citizens and to identify and provide access to citizenship for those children entitled to it. Between October 2020 and September 2021, 2,740 stateless persons were granted citizenship. Because of the exemplary work of the Thai government in identifying stateless persons, the figures of statelessness in Thailand have increased in the last five years from 443,862 in 2015 to 574,219 in 2022. There was a significant spike in the population between 2020 and 2021, increasing by a total of 80,832 stateless persons in just one year.

In a recent qualitative study on the experiences of stateless persons in Thailand, four types of perceived stigma were identified, including difficulty requesting that their needs be met, being unequal to others, being ineligible for healthcare services, and “being ranked below other hill tribe people who have IDs”. The study noted that “the phrase ‘life is nothing’ was presented by the participants, who reported that they felt like an invisible population in Thailand”. Participants of the study reported that they felt they experience less stigma if they do not leave their village, if they have a Thai ID, and if they can speak the Thai language, with having a Thai ID being perceived as of the utmost importance in avoiding stigma.

2. Persons at Risk of Statelessness

Children of migrant workers, including ethnic Shan from Myanmar risk statelessness due to low levels of birth registration and exclusion from the mainstream campaigns run by the government of Thailand to identify and register stateless populations. Children born to stateless parents as well as foundlings may also be at risk due to gaps in protective legislation.

3. Stateless Refugee

In 2022, Thailand reported 321 stateless refugees, all of whom were Rohingya from Myanmar. It is estimated that there are additionally 3,000 long-term Rohingya refugees who have resided in Thailand for more than two decades. Rohingya and other Muslim groups with historic ties to Myanmar, including populations who have lived along the Thai-Myanmar border for generations have been excluded from government programs to identify stateless persons and provide access to citizenship.

Reported stateless persons to the UNHCR Country 2019 (year start)3144 2

Country	2019 (year start)	2020 (year end)	2021 (year end)	2022 (year end)
Thailand	475,009	480,695	561,527	574,219

Source: UNHCR, Global Trends: Forced Displacement from 2019-2022.

Causes of Statelessness

1. Discriminatory nationality laws

In the process of Thai nation-building in the 20th Century, Thai ethnicity and citizenship were deeply entwined. Members of nine ethnic groups often referred to as ‘hill-tribe’ or ‘highland’ communities living in the North West of the country were largely excluded from recognition as citizens (excluded from earlier jus soli citizenship provisions), access to services and official citizen surveys until the mid-to-late 20th Century. Following extensive activism and advocacy led by affected communities in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s thousands of members of ‘highland’ communities have gained citizenship, however distribution of citizenship across ethnic groups is not unanimous and thousands still lack access to citizenship. Today, members of these communities continue to be denied freedom of movement and lack access to a wide range of rights including voting, ability to own land, access to bank credit, and employment.

While the 2008 amendments to the Nationality Act allowed for foreign spouses to apply for Thai citizenship without the requirement of permanent residence, the Act still does not allow for full gender equality in the ability to confer citizenship to foreign spouses. An alien woman married to a Thai man applying for citizenship will be granted citizenship by birth; however, an alien man married to a Thai woman will gain citizenship by naturalization only, which warrants different political rights. Citizenship acquired through naturalization is less secure than citizenship by birth with the decision to revoke citizenship by naturalization being up to the discretion of the government.

Before the 2008 amendment to the Nationality Act, many Thai women lost their nationality as a result of provisions that stipulated that a Thai woman who marries a foreign man voluntarily loses her Thai citizenship. As a result, some women who became stateless as a result of losing Thai citizenship and being unable to acquire their husband’s citizenship may still be resolving their cases.

2. Lack of Legal Safeguards Against Childhood Statelessness

Thailand’s citizenship legislation may provide avenues to citizenship to children of stateless parents who have regularised stay in Thailand but this does not apply for those children whose parents are residing in the country illegally or on a temporary basis. An amendment to civil registration legislation in 2019 allowed foundlings to acquire Thai nationality through naturalization; however, there are many conditions of naturalization that limit many foundlings from accessing the naturalization process.

3. Administrative Barriers

Administrative barriers have continued to limit the ability of members of ‘highland’ communities to gain citizenship. Differentiation in treatment by officials, lack of documentation, ingrained concepts of communities as ‘mobile’ and physical/ geographic barriers to accessing communities have complicated the citizenship application/ verification process. The application process has been reported to take 4.5 years on average, delaying stateless persons’ enjoyment of rights. Additionally, travel to offices to process citizenship applications is long and costly, creating further barriers to accessing the application process. Stateless persons have only been allowed to travel within and outside of their province freely since 2016. There are also reports that village heads, district officials, and police often demand a bribe to process a stateless person’s application for citizenship as well as to pass through checkpoints during travel.

A 2008 amendment to the Civil Registration Act increased access to birth registration for many hill tribe members. Before the amendment, identity documentation, household registration, and official birth notifications were required for birth registration, which the hill tribe members were mostly unable to provide. Now, such documents are not required and births can be registered in any District Office, regardless of birthplace. However, while Thailand reported a birth registration rate of 100% in 2021, a study the same year supported by UNICEF found that among a sample group of Thai-born children of migrant’s birth registration rates were only 50.2%.

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Law