Cabinet extends nationality and legal status scheme for long-term migrants

Thailand’s Cabinet has approved a one-off, one-year extension to a scheme aimed at accelerating the resolution of nationality and legal status issues for long-term migrants and eligible children born in the kingdom.

Government spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek said on Tuesday (June 30) that the Cabinet approved a proposal from the National Security Council to extend the implementation period until June 30, 2027, replacing the original deadline of June 30, 2026, set under a Cabinet resolution on October 29, 2024.

Slow registration prompts one-year extension

Ratchada said the extension was needed because progress under the scheme had been very limited, mainly because many people in the target groups had not yet reported themselves to submit applications for legal status consideration.

The Cabinet made clear that the extension will be granted only once and that all existing criteria and qualifications will remain unchanged.

The scheme forms part of Thailand’s broader effort to resolve long-running nationality and legal status problems among people who have lived in the country for many years but remain without clear legal recognition.

Who is covered by the scheme

For long-term migrants who have lived in Thailand for an extended period, applicants may be considered for a certificate confirming permission to reside in the kingdom.

General qualifications include being unable to return to their country of origin and having no evidence of holding or using another nationality.

For children of ethnic minority or ethnic groups born in Thailand, applications may be considered for Thai nationality. Eligible applicants must be children of people whose personal records were surveyed and registered up to 1999, or during additional surveys conducted between 2005 and 2011.

DOPA ordered to clear backlog and update records

The Cabinet instructed the Department of Provincial Administration to set screening guidelines and management systems for remaining unresolved cases.

The department was also told to speed up updates to civil registration databases to ensure the information is accurate and current, while enforcing relevant laws strictly to reduce security risks.

Ratchada said the measures are also intended to prevent unlawful exploitation of the process by bad-faith actors or criminal networks.

Policy balances humanitarian and security concerns

The extension keeps alive a fast-track process that has been watched closely by rights groups and international agencies. UNHCR said in 2025 that Thailand’s accelerated pathways were authorised by the October 2024 Cabinet resolution and were designed to grant permanent residence to about 340,000 long-term residents and nationality to about 140,000 children born in Thailand.

UNHCR also described the policy as part of Thailand’s historic effort to resolve statelessness and improve access to rights for eligible people who have lived in the country for years.

For the government, the latest extension gives eligible people more time to come forward while allowing authorities to tighten screening, update records and prevent abuse of the system.