Thailand is reviewing its citizenship application system and past approvals as the government looks to tighten rules following cases involving foreign nominee networks.
Deputy government spokesperson Ploythalay Laksamisaengchan said today, September 17, that the review was ordered as part of Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s wider campaign to strengthen enforcement and address loopholes in existing regulations.
She said recent crackdowns on social problems and nominee networks had uncovered several cases linked to foreign nationals who hold Thai citizenship, prompting the government to examine how citizenship applications are assessed.
A special Interior Ministry task force has agreed to review the entire process, including application procedures, eligibility criteria and how decisions are made.
Officials will also look back at previous grants of Thai citizenship to identify possible weaknesses in the system.
The findings will be used to consider changes to the Nationality Act B.E. 2508, or 1965, with the government saying it wants the law to better reflect current conditions and prevent rules from being exploited to avoid legal restrictions.
Ploythalay said the review was also intended to protect the rights and interests of Thai citizens.
As part of the wider crackdown, the Department of Provincial Administration is also increasing training on immigration law for officials at provincial, district, village and community levels.
The government wants local officials and residents to help identify and report suspicious activity in their areas.
One area of concern involves cases in which foreigners allegedly use Thai identification cards or personal information belonging to Thai nationals when establishing companies.
Ploythalay said similar cases had previously been detected and could lead to Thai nationals being used as nominees to bypass restrictions applying to foreign businesses.
The Interior Ministry is also examining accommodation businesses offering short-term rooms through online platforms.
The Department of Provincial Administration has compiled information on short-term accommodation listings across the country and instructed provincial officials to check whether the businesses are operating legally.
Where officials find accommodation operating as a hotel without a licence, or without the required notification for accommodation that does not fall under the hotel category, provinces have been told to investigate.
Officials are also being asked to identify obstacles businesses face when applying for licences, while the government considers whether related laws should be updated to reflect current conditions.
Ploythalay said the Department of Provincial Administration would review information from the previous year to identify irregularities and weaknesses in the system.
Those findings will then be used in the review of citizenship criteria and any proposed amendments to the Nationality Act.
She said the aim was to close loopholes that could be misused, strengthen action against foreign nominee arrangements and improve the government’s management of nationality and legal status.
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