‘Thailand has one of the largest stateless populations in the world. According to the Ministry of Interior in September 2024, there are over 592,340 stateless people, including approximately 169,241 children. Every child has the right to a nationality. Statelessness prevents children from accessing essential fundamental rights, hinders their development, and limits their social participation. Having legal recognition provides children the opportunity to fully develop their potential and contribute to the development of society and the nation.’ (UNICEF Thailand, 2024)
‘Every child in Thailand is entitled to receive education, regardless of their race or nationality.’ The Convention on the Rights of the Child states that states parties have the responsibility to assist stateless children through birth registration and citizenship ownership. In Thailand, schools can register stateless children providing them with a G-code registration to ensure that every child receives an education. However, G-code students are still considered stateless and nationality-less children. Although these children can access basic education as per Thai law, they still cannot access other governmental services such as healthcare and student loans, as they do not have a legal registered status.
In 2024, World Vision Thailand expanded its efforts to improve the quality of life for children under ‘the pilot project on stateless children to access legal status and basic services’. Doing so, World Vision Thailand mobilized a network of partners to address the issue of personal status of students with G code in Aranyaprathet District, Sa Kaeo Province. Strategic partners include the Aranyaprathet District Office, Sa Kaeo Provincial Juvenile and Family Observation and Protection Center, Sa Kaeo Provincial Social Development and Human Security Office, Sa Kaeo Protection Center for the Destitute, Sa Kaeo Primary Educational Service Area Office 2, local police stations, schools, community leaders, and volunteers.
Under the pilot project, various activities have been carried out in collaboration with partner networks, including consultation meetings, stakeholder capacity building workshops, and mobile investigation service units, contributing towards strengthening the legal registration system at local level. The project included four types of key activities:
- Meetings to build understanding and develop work plans with partner networks.
- · Three capacity building trainings to enhance knowledge and understanding among relevant staff on the issues of stateless children, legal approaches to addressing legal status issues, workshop on completing a request form (Form 89), and numerous experience-sharing sessions.
- Two mobile investigation service units have been organized by World Vision Thailand in collaboration with local partner networks at B Grimm School and Ban San Suk School in Aranyaprathet District. These units aim to conduct fact-finding processes and discuss solutions for resolving the legal status of the target group, to support the proper submission of registration status requests as required by law.
- Lesson learned sessions to reflect on the work and strengthened collaboration on the issue of improving personal status.
Legal status is essential for children. It guarantees their legal rights and importantly opens doors to age-appropriate developmental support, fostering growth and learning in all aspects of their lives. This serves as a strong foundation for their future. As such, resolving legal status issues requires a system-based approach, where cooperation with and from the relevant government agencies and stakeholders represents a cornerstone of the project approach, in order for stateless children to obtain official legal status. World Vision Thailand would like to express our sincere gratitude to our local partners for their support and collaboration in driving results under the pilot project which successfully supported the screening of 127 children, resulting in 3 children receiving legal status and 4 children and 1 adult receiving Thai citizenship. As a civil society organisation, World Vision Thailand remains committed to continuing this collaboration to improve the quality of life for stateless children as all children are a gift from God.
