26 held in Surat Thani for Thai ID card fraud

Two civil servants among those arrested after migrants found illegally registered

SURAT THANI – Authorities arrested 26 people including civil servants and Thai residents of this southern province for allegedly facilitating the issuance of Thai ID cards for migrant workers.

Two civil servants, nine Thai homeowners and 15 migrant workers were arrested in Kanchanadit and Koh Samui districts on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Thai homeowners made false statements to certify the migrants were Thais, said deputy national police chief Pol Gen Samran Nualma, who visited Surat Thani on Thursday.

According to Pol Gen Samran, the people were involved in the issuance of Category 0 Thai ID cards for migrant workers. 

Category 0 ID cards, containing a 13-digit identification number starting with 0, are usually issued to stateless persons, marginalised groups or residents in remote or border regions without formal civil registration.

Migrants with such ID cards have access to many basic Thai public services and can later apply for full Thai citizenship.

The arrests this week were part of a follow-up investigation after a crackdown on suspects in another corrupt ID card issuance case in Don Sak, Surat Thani in July.

Registration fraud has been a growing problem in Thailand, with offences taking many forms, including identity theft involving inactive registrants, false birth registrations, false marriages, and misuse of education entitlements.