By RAI MARAOH – Burmese migrants working illegally in Thailand have been given another chance by the Thai government to register for a work permit which will allow them to live in the country and work legally for a year beginning in June.
On April 26th, the Thai cabinet agreed to offer all illegal immigrants the chance to complete a new round of registration. The statement released by the Thai Ministry of Labor explains that employers with illegal workers will only have to bring their workers documents for the new registration, without having to bring the workers to register individually.
Baya Chan, a Mon migrant who works at a rubber plantation in Chumphon province said, “I am very interested in registering because I do not want to risk my life any more.”
He explained that being smuggled in to Thailand, in which he hid at the bottom of a car with 20 other people crammed together, with a lack of air, could have resulted in death.
“I may escape these risk if I am able to get new registration,” he said.
Khine Oo, another Mon migrant, who works at rubber plantation in the Southern part of Thailand, said, “I have already given my name to my boss to do registration. After I get this work permit, I will try to issue a temporary-border passport, which would make it easy for me travel throughout this country.”
There are two to three million migrant laborers worked in Thailand. These migrants come from Laos, Cambodia and Burma, and the majority of them are working illegally.
“I will do it while they allow us to do it. Without a work permit and passport, we do not dare go anywhere,” expalined Nai Pla, another migrant worker.
“If we got arrested, we have to bribe them [the police] a lot or they will deport us to the border. This is why many people are interested in it.”
In August 2009, the Burmese government opened registration for Burmese temporary passports to Burmese migrants in an agreement between Thailand and Burma.
This new round of registration allows for formerly illegal migrants to apply for a temporary passport, the benefits of which are cheaper traveling and increased easy at returning to Burma.
The Thai government began offering work permits to migrant laborers in 2003. Officially, work permits cost 3,880 Baht, but depending on a variety of service fees, migrants often pay 5,000 to 6,000 Baht.
