The Thai government confirmed on 24 September that it will issue official identification cards, known as Pink Cards, to migrant workers from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam who entered Thailand illegally, according to sources assisting Myanmar migrant workers.
U Moe Kyaw, a spokesperson for the Yaung Chi Oo Workers' Association (YCOWA), a nonprofit organisation based in Thailand’s Mae Sot that helps Burmese migrant workers, explained that the Thai Government had approved of three key measures for Myanmar migrant workers.
These new measures will apply to both illegal migrant workers and those who came under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed in 2018 between the Thai Government and the previous NLD Myanmar Government.
He said to KIC: "It has been decided to grant a one-year legal residence permit to those who entered illegally. Additionally, the two-year residence and work permits [obtained as part of the MoU], set to expire on 13 February 2025, will be extended for another two years.” These permits are known as Pink Cards.
Pink Cards, also known as Non Thai Identification Cards are normally issued to migrant workers who have a work permit and all the necessary documentation. They are valid until the end of the work permit or 10 years, whichever comes sooner. The cards allow the migrant workers to stay legally in the country. This new legislation relaxes the criteria for Myanmar migrant workers to obtain a Pink Card and mean that even undocumented migrant workers will be able to get a Pink Card.
U Moe Kyaw also said that the new measures would give Migrant workers 60 days to find a new job after leaving their old job. Previously they had to find new employment within 30 days of leaving their last job or leave the country.
The decisions were approved by the new Thai Government after three proposals were made by the Foreign Workers Management Committee, which was set up by the previous Thai Government to look into the situation of Myanmar migrant workers.
An undocumented Myanmar worker in Thailand who did not want to be identified said that the plan to issue official identity cards would significantly improve the conditions and well-being of undocumented migrant workers.
He said: "This should have happened long ago. Illegal workers face immense struggles, living in constant fear, often not even daring to leave their homes due to insecurity. If those [pink] cards are issued, everyone will be able to live and work freely under Thai law. Many migrant workers are focused on survival rather than becoming wealthy. Issuing these cards could be lifesaving for many people.”
These new measures by the Thai Government will help migrant workers from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. However, Myanmar migrant workers continue to face worrying security issues, such as being forcibly conscripted, if they return to Myanmar to renew their passports.
According to statistics from the Thai Ministry of Labor, approximately 2.5 million Myanmar workers are legally employed in Thailand, though the number is considerably higher if illegal migrant workers are taken into account.
But, as the number of Myanmar citizens leaving the country to go abroad continues to rise the junta is putting in place more restrictions to prevent young people from travelling abroad. Just on 20 September 2024, the junta announced that Myanmar citizens studying in Thailand on short-term education visas would no longer be able to renew their passports at their embassies in Thailand and would have to, instead, return to Myanmar to renew their passports.
