2019 Statelessness & Citizenship Review 1(2) EXPANDING RIGHTS OF STATELESS PERSONS AND CONTINUAL GREY AREAS Stateless persons in Thailand are not a homogenous group; their incorporation into Thai society depends largely on the timing of their birth, their ethnicity as classified by the Thai state and the documents they possess. In addition to the complex regime of governing statelessness, what makes Thailand a unique case study for modern-day statelessness is that stateless persons are both marginalised from and included in the formal systems. Since 2005, the rights of non-citizens have been progressively expanded. The ‘Education for All’ Cabinet resolution passed in 2005 grants access to education for all children in the country regardless of their legal status. 74 The amendments made to the Civil Registration Act 2008 also allow universal birth registration for all children born in the country regardless of their legal status. 75 As compared to the generations before them, stateless children and youth in northern Thailand born after the year 2000 are likely to be more integrated or included into the state system. 76 This partial social and legal incorporation means some stateless persons, in the words of my participants, ‘grew up normal’ 77 and were not truly aware of the implications of not having citizenship. It is usually not until they reach teenage years (from around 13 years old) that they become aware of their ‘abnormal’ legal condition and the barriers imposed on their social and physical mobility. In the last few years, the Thai state has been passing significant amendments to the citizenship laws that theoretically open a much wider door for obtaining Thai citizenship. Confirming the message in the official letter at the beginning of this article, the late King Bhumibol’s platinum jubilee in 2017 was cited to me by activists in the field as a main motivator for unprecedented urgency to solve statelessness, especially among children. Statelessness even gained a temporary limelight when the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior published an article in mainstream media: ‘Statelessness Situation and Thailand’s Solutions’.78 The Cabinet resolution passed on 7 December 2016 also states that stateless children and youth born to migrants and displaced persons may be considered for Thai citizenship under the conditions that they: 1. possess proof of birth in Thailand; 2. do not possess any other citizenship; 3. have proficiency in Thai (reading and writing); 4. demonstrate loyalty to the monarch; 5. possess a record of good conduct; 6. possess evidence of educational achievement — completion of a Bachelor’s degree. 79 74 75 76 77 78 79 Statelessness Situation and Thailand’s Solutions (n 63) 9. ibid 5; Civil Registration Act (No 2) (Thailand) B E 2551 (2008). Statelessness Situation and Thailand’s Solutions (n 63). ‘Normal life’ here is minimally defined as being documented, having a right to reside and a right to education and healthcare. Grisada Boonrach, ‘Statelessness Situation and Thailand’s Solutions: Grisada Boonrach (Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior)’, Matichon (online, 11 July 2017) <https://www.matichon.co.th/article/news_599580>. ibid; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, ‘Thailand Announces Additional Measures to Fight Statelessness’ (Press Release, 5 January 2017); ‘Thailand Opens Citizenship Path for 80,000 Stateless People’, Asia Pacific Migration Network (online, 1 January 2017) <http://apmigration.ilo.org/news/thailand-opens-citizenship-path-for-80-000stateless-people>. 224