Thailand to open temporary passport-issuing centres for Myanmar migrant workers
Published on Thursday, 19 September 2013 19:23
The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security says that Thai authorities will open five temporary passport-issuing centres for Myanmar migrant workers whose visas in Thailand have expired.
The centres will be opened at the Myanmar Embassy to Thailand in Bangkok, and in Ranong, Chiang Mai, Maha Chaing, and Surat Thani, where most Myanmar migrant workers live.
"Five groups in Myanmar left for Thailand on September 14 to assign duties at five temporary passport-issuing centres. During this week, we are going to issue temporary passports to Myanmar migrant workers," an official from the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security said.
Under a new agreement between Myanmar and the Thai government, Myanmar migrant workers who present their temporary passports to Thai authorities will be permitted to stay and work in the Kingdom. Moreover, Myanmar has asked Thailand's Labour Ministry not to arrest Myanmar migrant workers whose visas have expired but to provide assistance to such workers when they are fined. According to the Migrant Workers Right Network, the bilateral agreement also allows Myanmar migrant workers who have resided in Thailand for three years to re-enter the country after staying one month in Myanmar.
Myanmar and Thai authorities were set to continue discussions on the matter this month.
According to the report of Thailand's Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, temporary passports had been issued to 1.7 million Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand.
Meanwhile, there are more than 1,000 Myanmar migrant workers whose visas have expired but who are still working in Thailand. They are vulnerable to exploitation by the unscrupulous brokers they approach to extend their visas.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/thailand-to-open-temporary-passport-issuing-centres-for-myanmar-migrant-workers/
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