Archive · 19 Nov 2025
Myanmar Refugees in Thailand Gain Legal Work Rights
Thailand let Myanmar refugees work legally for the first time, helping them support themselves after aid cuts.
Tun Min Lat, a refugee, is happy to work in a longan orchard after 18 years in Thailand.
Thailand grants work permits to over 80,000 Myanmar refugees
Refugees fill labor shortages left by departing Cambodian workers
Tun Min Lat, a 42-year-old refugee, works legally for the first time in 18 years
Refugees hope for self-reliance and improved lives after aid cuts
Thailand has nine border camps for Myanmar refugees, with influxes since the 1980s and 2021 coup
- Who
- Over 80,000 Myanmar refugees in Thailand
- What
- Gained legal work rights
- When
- Late August 2022
- Where
- Thailand, specifically in Chanthaburi province
- Why
- To fill labor shortages left by departing Cambodian workers and provide refugees with self-reliance after aid cuts
Refugee Advocates
Thai Government
Work Rights
Refugee Advocates
Welcome the decision as a significant step towards refugee self-reliance
Thai Government
Made the decision to address labor shortages and improve refugee lives
- Total Myanmar refugees in Thailand
- Over 100,000
- Refugees granted work rights
- Over 80,000
- Thai provinces with border camps
- 9
- Cambodian workers in Thailand before fighting
- About 520,000
- Percentage of Thai workforce
- 12%
- Tun Min Lat's family members working
- 3
- Tun Min Lat's daily earnings
- About 1,000 Thai baht ($30.81)