Thailand

In Thailand, there is neither a refugee legal framework nor a consistent policy to guarantee access to universal birth registration for all children born to asylum seekers and refugees. Thailand is one of the primary host countries for the Rohingya who have fled persecution and ethnic violence in their place of origin in Rakhine State, Myanmar. The Government of Myanmar refuses to recognize their citizenship, and Thailand does not recognize refugee status. This means the Rohingya are not only unrecognized refugees in Thailand, but stateless refugees. This complicates their access to protection as refugees and makes it impossible to regularize their status as migrants. The majority of Rohingya children born in Thailand – except for those with one Thai parent – are unable to acquire Thai nationality and remain stateless. Rohingya children are often branded as “illegal migrants,” despite being born in the country.