Immigration overhaul on the table
PUBLISHED : 1 May 2025 at 03:30
Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul yesterday proposed establishing a dedicated department to handle immigration matters.
Mr Anutin submitted a formal proposal to the chairman of the Immigration Commission, recommending the formation of a subcommittee to study the feasibility of setting up an immigration affairs department.
He said the initiative aims to address the increasing cross-border movement of both Thai nationals and foreigners.
He emphasised the Interior Ministry has wide-ranging responsibilities related to national security, public welfare, and legal rights for all residents, both Thais and foreigners. These include matters such as residency permits, work authorisations, citizenship applications and civil registration.
The ministry also has a database that can be enhanced to streamline immigration-related services and support population mobility more efficiently.
The proposal followed the government’s directive, assigning the Interior Ministry to lead the integration of the population database with public services. This was part of preparing to improve and expand the database, which would be more cost-effective than creating a new system.
This directive is part of the government’s goal to improve efficiency, responsiveness, and performance in public administration.
Mr Anutin’s proposal is linked to events from Jan 10, 2017, when the cabinet approved the proposal to allow the prime minister and the interior minister to issue ministerial regulations under the Immigration Act.
It also designated the permanent secretary of the interior as the chair of the Immigration Commission and asked the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission (OPDC) to assess the impact of creating an immigration affairs department. The findings were approved in principle by the cabinet.
Mr Anutin said joint discussions between the OPDC and the Ministry of Interior have taken place, during which the Interior Ministry provided details on its roles and functions, as well as recommendations for integrated border management.
The proposal calls for a unified agency to oversee cross-border human movement, aiming to enhance coordination, efficiency, and national security.
Currently, immigration duties are dispersed across multiple agencies, including the Interior Ministry, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Royal Thai Police (RTP), the Labour Ministry, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), the Board of Investment (BoI), the National Security Council (NSC), the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Immigration Bureau.
Major immigration-related challenges faced by the government include increased population mobility, a lack of mechanisms for providing immigration services, a focus on managing rather than controlling, and ineffective cooperation due to the absence of a lead agency.
Those were good reasons to set up an immigration affairs department, he said.