The Ministry of Labour’s Inspector-General and spokesperson Mr. Ananchai Uthaipatanacheep gave an update on the progress of the nationality verification process for Burmese, Cambodian and Laotian workers, as directed by Labour Minister General Sirichai Distkul. At present, Thailand has 683,652 Cambodian workers, 251,545 of which have already passed the nationality verification process. Cambodia has prepared around 240,000 travel documents and has already distributed 4,000, with the remaining 236,000 in line for distribution from 1 March 2017.
Distribution will be separated into 2 groups consisting of the first group of 173 companies with 80 employees and more. The process begins with Cambodia issuing letters to various companies to survey lists of Cambodian workers which have passed the nationality verification process but are pending the travel documents. From there, officers notify companies of a date and time that company will be visited in order to distribute travel documents to Cambodian staff. The fee for documents is 950 Baht, 500 Baht for the immigration stamp and a 100 Baht fee for the work permit issued by the Department of Employment.
For companies with less than 80 staff, 6 centers have been established for travel document distribution including the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok, Zeer Rangsit Department Store in Pathum Thani and Tesco Lotus in Chon Buri; centers in Rayong, Samut Prakarn and Chachoengsao are still under consideration. Cambodian workers residing in provinces apart from the above can submit their documents online and receive their travel documents from the 6 centers. The travel documents will start being distributed in the third week of March, 6 days a week with the exception of Friday. Each center is expected to distribute 2,500 travel documents daily.
Mr. Ananchai further stated that the nationality verification for the remaining 432,107 workers will begin again in June. Myanmar on the other hand will send 6 officials over in each center for the national verification process, which will commence on March 3. The centers will be located in Mae Sai district in Samut Prakarn, Mae Sod in Chiang Rai, Tak, Ranong and two more in Samut Sakhon. As for Vietnamese workers, the Department of Employment is currently under negotiations to import labour for future business support, particularly in the food and beverage and hospitality industry.
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Spokesperson and Publication Sub-Division/
Bureau of Public Relations /
Chaninthorn Phettab – News/
Sompob Silbut – Photos/
20 February 2017
