Elderly people from the Tai Lue ethnic minority in the North are calling on the government to speed up the process to grant them Thai citizenship as they applied several years ago and some have since died.
The Hill Area and Community Development Foundation (HADF) recently visited the Thai Lue community in the Ban Rom Pho Thong village in Chiang Rai's Mae Suai district after a group of elderly Thai Lue people complained to the foundation about the matter.
HADF co-founder and former senator, Tuenjai Deetes, also known as "Kru Daeng", said elderly Tai Lue submitted 1,332 applications for Thai citizenship between 2014 and 2017, but only 239 have been approved.
According to her, there were many requirements for those seeking Thai nationality until 2020 when the Interior Ministry imposed less strict requirements for minority groups, allowing them to apply for citizenship if they are at least 60 years of age.
As a result, they can now apply for citizenship if they are at least 60, have their name in the house registration system, have had a residency certificate for at least five years, and have three reliable witnesses who can confirm their background without having to be able to read or write Thai and sing the national anthem any more, said Ms Tuenjai.
She said most Tai Lue people migrated from the Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture in southern China and have been living in Thailand for more than 50 years, adding that some of them have died while waiting for Thai nationality.
"The slow process denies them their rights, and the elderly are considered the most vulnerable group. They are the ancestors of many Thai people who have built this country, and they have been settled here for a long time," said Ms Tuenjai.
She added that the Department of Provincial Administration proposed forming a dedicated agency responsible for granting citizenship to solve the problem.
The president of the Tai Lue Association Ann Liuchai has also pleaded for the government to grant them citizenship.
Tuenjai Deetes
