UPON returning to their homeland and being unable to get jobs a lot of Cambodian migrant workers are now sneaking back to Thailand via natural channels while the government relaxed rules allowing those still in Thailand but whose papers have expired to stay on for another six months, Naewna newspaper said today (Aug. 14).
Mr. Jirayu Huangsap, spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office, said Chanthaburi and Trat Border Defence Command together with Immigration Police have detected a large number of Khmer migrant workers illegally returning to Thailand to go back to work with their Thai employers.
Previously the Cambodian government had urged these workers to return home with promises of jobs and financial support but this did not materialise. They had got stern warnings through their relatives in Cambodia that they would be denaturalised and that parcels of land currently occupied by their relatives inside that country be confiscated by the state if they failed to return in the wake of the border conflict.
The Thai Interior and Labour ministries issued announcements today allowing Cambodian workers whose employment terms or work permits had expired but were unable to return to their country to stay on in Thailand for another six months from June 7, 2025 onwards.
“Despite the relaxation of restrictions governing legal foreign workers for humanitarian reasons, Thailand remains committed to protecting national security and enforcing the law.
“The government reaffirms that it will continue to treat each other in keeping with humanitarian principles and will continue to provide assistance and facilitate all Cambodian workers according to Thai law, ensuring their safe stay, work and residence in Thailand,” Jirayu said.
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Top and Front Page: Around 50 Cambodian workers who slipped back to Thailand via a natural channel were rounded up earlier this week. Photos: Thai Rath
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