Thailand Offers to Register Migrant Workers

  • Heng Reaksmey
    VOA Khmer

Workers prepare for an influx of registrants inside the one-stop center for foreign laborers in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, June 30, 2014. (Steve Herman/VOA)

A senior Thai official says his country is working to legalize Cambodian workers there, in the wake of a mass exodus following a May coup.

Acting Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketheow met with his Cambodian counterpart, Hor Namhong, on Tuesday.

Thai authorities have set up a registration center in Samut Sakhon province to help legalize Cambodian migrant workers, he later told reporters.

Some 250,000 Cambodian workers fled Thailand following the coup, concerned about a crackdown by Thai authorities.

Sihasak Phuangketheow said Thailand had set up a “one stop” service center at the border to provide visas to Cambodians who wish to work in Thailand.

Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong told reporters Tuesday he expects at least 130,000 Cambodians to return to work in Thailand legally.