Management of Cross-border Migration: Thailand as a Case of Net Immigration

Abstract

The increase of migrant workers into the Kingdom of Thailand began in the mid-1980s and early 1990s when Thailand was in transition from a low-end labour-intensive economy, to a capital-intensive one. The role of migrant workers became even more evident when Thailand encountered the economic crisis of the mid-1990s. Current statistics indicate that Thailand receives more than a million migrant workers from neighbouring countries, including Myanmar, Lao PDR and Cambodia. This paper traces the five stages of the Royal Thai Government’s (RTG) policies to managing cross-border migration and migrant worker issues in Thailand. It argues that despite the introduction of policies of management of the issue, migrant workers are vulnerable to human trafficking. Furthermore, as more often than not migrant workers are irregular migrants, they are treated as a risk to national security. As such they are vulnerable to labour exploitation. This paper analyses the problems in policy and legal enforcement between countries of origin and the RTG, suggesting ways in which these problems can be overcome to ensure compliance with international norms, and thus the responsibility of the RTG to its ‘foreign workers’.

Migrant agricultural workers: a comparative analysis of both policy and COVID-19 response in Thailand, Italy, and Canada

“…Labor migration in Thailand began in the 1980s and 1990s when the Thai economy shifted from less-skilled, intensive labor to more high-skilled, technology-driven jobs (Chalamwong et al 2012 ). Many Thai citizens began transitioning to skilled labor, in urban areas, to meet the growing demand (Pholphirul 2012 ).…”

“…In addition to this labor shift, other factors such as political instability, lack of employment opportunities in their countries of origin, and the large wage differential between Thailand and Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos resulted in a dramatic increase of migrant workers between the mid-1990s and early 2000s (Chalamwong et al 2012 ). Thailand’s government struggled to regulate the rapid flow of migrants, which led to high levels of irregular (i.e., illegal or undocumented) migration.…”

“…In contrast, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar are all classified as the least developed countries (WESP 2014 ) and have combined GDPs of only $123.88 billion USD (IMF 2021 ). Thailand’s relatively higher rank on the fragile state index (The Fund for Peace 2021 ) and Human Development Index (UN Development Program 2020 ) compared to bordering countries means labor migration to Thailand stems from the increased opportunities offered by Thailand’s political stability and economic opportunity (Chalamwong et al 2012 ).…”

Managing labour migration in Malaysia: foreign workers and the challenges of ‘control’ beyond liberal democracies

“…There has also been increasing focus on the management of temporary worker programmes in Asia (Surak 2018) as well as longstanding interest in the roles played by brokerage networks in organising migration (Lindquist 2012(Lindquist , 2017McKeown 2008McKeown , 2012. In response to changing movement patterns there is also a growing body of research on how states have managed their new roles as net receivers of migration (Chalamwong, Meepien, and Hongprayoon 2012;Paitoonpong and Chalamwong 2012) as well as the role played by regional organisations like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Bal and Gerard 2018).…”

Health insurance status of cross-border migrant children and the associated factors: a study in a Thai-Myanmar border area

“…Thailand is a hub for cross-border migration for many working-age migrants and their accompanying dependents, especially from Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia [ 1 ]. Given the many unofficial border crossings, many of these migrants are undocumented [ 2 ].…”