Thai employers of Burmese migrants working in Thailand have been told yet again by Thai authorities to finish submitting the completed new nationality identification forms by November, according to a copy of an official document available with SHAN.
On September 4, the provincial employment office of Chiangmai told employers to urge their workers to apply for passport documents under the national verification process.
The deadline is November 30 for people from Burma and December 30 for people from Cambodia.
However, most migrants are afraid of giving factual biographical information to the Burmese government because of reports of some of their families left behind being forced to pay extra taxes to the junta on monthly or yearly basis, said an employer on condition of anonymity.
Rights groups also share this concern with migrants.
On September 16, rights groups: the State Enterprise Workers Relations Confederation (SERC), the Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF) and the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee (TLSC) submitted a petition to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants to make an urgent inquiry into the commencement of a nationality verification process for Burmese migrants in Thailand because both the Thai and Burmese governments have disseminated little information, which is likely to be ineffective and places two million migrants at high risk.
“We hope the UN will actively pay attention to this case and will try to discuss with Thai authorities to work together as we have requested,” said Sein Htay from Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF).
The national verification process began at the end of July. Passport issuing offices are being opened along the Thai-Burma border in Myawaddy, Tachilek and Kawthaung (Victoria Point).
The only information publicly disseminated is from the Burmese government about processes on its side of the border.
However, private brokers are surfacing and providing answers and services at unreasonably high costs, according to their joint submission.
“Tour buses carrying migrants to border processing centres are leaving main migrant population centers in Thailand and migrants are then crossing borders to Burma and returning at varying costs with temporary Burmese passports and visas,” reads the letter.
The letter stated that the nationality verification process is two-track.
Migrants can either submit their biographical information to brokers to get nationality verified and obtain a passport within months, or submit this information formally to employment offices and receive a slow response. The formal government costs are low (approximately 600 to 2,100 baht/US$17- 60) but broker fees are unregulated and becoming higher (starting costs approximately 7,500 baht/US$200).
The groups said they fear for their safety and are disturbed at what appears to be another wave of exploitation.
According to the Royal Thai Government announcement no migrants would remain illegally in Thailand after 28 February 2010, as all registered Burmese migrants must undertake nationality verification before this time by means of a 13-stage process, involving both governments, or face deportation.
The letter urges the Burmese government to conduct the verification process in Thailand and not in Burma.
