Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra announced on Saturday that members of ethnic minority groups in Thailand will be able to obtain Thai nationality within five days, starting June 30.
The announcement was made via her official Facebook page and marks a major shift in policy aimed at addressing long-standing challenges faced by ethnic communities in securing legal status.
“I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations to all our ethnic brothers and sisters who have long awaited a resolution to the issue of citizenship and legal status. This prolonged wait is finally coming to an end on June 30,” she wrote.
According to the prime minister, more than 480,000 individuals across the country are still awaiting verification of their nationality. Chiang Rai province accounts for over 90,000 of those cases, the highest in the nation.
For more than three decades, the process for verifying citizenship and legal status has been slow and overly complicated, resulting in very few successful applications each year.
“This has deprived ethnic communities of fundamental rights, including access to state welfare, housing, employment, travel, and civic participation,” Paetongtarn stated.
She recalled that in July of last year, then-Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin visited Chiang Rai and pledged to uphold equality by enabling ethnic groups to reside legally in Thailand.
That promise included reducing the processing time for permanent residency applications from 270 days to just five, and shortening the citizenship application process for children from 180 days to five.
“Since then, the government has worked tirelessly to push forward every step of the process, securing approval from both the National Security Council and the Cabinet to make this pledge a reality on Monday, June 30. From that date onwards, all submitted applications will be processed within five days,” she said.
Paetongtarn also extended her appreciation to all parties involved, particularly the Department of Provincial Administration and the Ministry of Interior, for helping to turn the policy into action and advancing the rights of ethnic communities.
“Every moment lost has meant missed chances for education, livelihoods, and the exercise of legally recognised rights. But from now on, the children of our ethnic communities will finally become full citizens—Thai nationals with rights and freedoms under the Constitution,” she concluded.
