18,000 migrants expected at new registration centre

NAKHON RATCHASIMA: A one-stop service (OSS) centre has been launched to allow registered migrant workers who are waiting to have their nationality verified to report to authorities and update their status by March 31.

Labour authorities in this northeastern province expect to see about 18,000 migrant workers report to the OSS, which opened yesterday, by this deadline.

Governor Wichian Chantaranothai said its launch is in line with a cabinet resolution on Jan 16 to streamline the way migrant workers are managed.

Under the resolution, workers who have “pink cards” or temporary IDs, and those who have a letter of employment confirmation but have yet to have their nationality verified, are required to update their status by March. Once this has been done they will be allowed to stay and work until the end of June. During this period they should get their work permits secured.

Migrant labourers mostly come from neighbouring countries such as Myanmar and Cambodia. They are now also required to pass a health exam to obtain a certificate of identity (CI), a preliminary step to applying for a visa and work permit.

Under the cabinet resolution, once their nationality has been verified and work permit secured they will be allowed to work in the country until March 31, 2020.

Of the estimated 18,000 illegal workers who are expected to update their status, 14,000 are Cambodian, 2,000 come from Myanmar and the rest are from Laos, said Preecha Intarachathorn, a labour official.

The number of illegal aliens has declined due to recently toughened regulations, he added.

In a separate development, 16 Vietnamese were arrested for overstaying their visas in Nong Khai yesterday while heading home to celebrate Tet, or Vietnem’s Lunar New Year.

Pol Col Panlop Suriyakul na Ayutthaya, superintendent of the Nong Khai immigration office, said they were travelling in a van heading to the Thai-Lao border.

An examination of their passports showed they had overstayed 200 to 325 days. They admitted to having worked illegally in Bangkok and other major cities, he said.

The group took the train from Bangkok to Nong Khai, but decided to get off in Udon Thani’s Kumphawapi district to avoid the authorities, police said.

They hired a van to take them to the ThaiLao border but were arrested en route.

The driver, who was unidentified, was charged with assisting the group, Pol Col Panlop said.