House panel probes citizenship bribes

MPs face scrutiny over allegations

The House Committee on Local Administration is investigating allegations of bribery in the citizenship registration process, with a committee member saying there is strong evidence in at least five cases.

Bhumjaithai Party (BJT) MP for Ang Thong, Korrawee Prissananantakul, who chairs the committee, said a committee meeting on Wednesday focused on the process of granting citizenship for those who have lived in Thailand for some time, as well as those born in Thailand, but without citizenship.

The meeting was also attended by the permanent secretary of the interior, the director-general of the Department of Provincial Administration (DoPA) Nirat Phongsitthithawon, the head of the Bureau of Registration Administration (Bora), and the governors of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

Mr Korrawee said complaints were heard about misconduct during the process of requesting citizenship, including a conversation between a citizenship applicant and a state official. The official was purported to have asked for bribe money.

The committee has evidence of a transaction of 30,000 baht, said Mr Korrawee. The money was for “processing” the citizenship application, he said, with 10,000 baht having to be paid upfront. The applicant, according to the evidence, had only 8,000 baht to pay and was in need of another 2,000 baht.

He said four or five similar cases had arisen, and in the past few weeks, the DoPA has sent a team to investigate the allegations, including whether village headmen and district chiefs played a part in collecting bribes.

Officials of higher rank may also be involved, said Mr Korrawee, but granting citizenship can be done at the district level, and the DoPA needs to make sure who is involved.

A cabinet resolution in October 2024 paved the way for nearly half a million migrants who met the requirements to obtain Thai citizenship. Mr Korrawee said the citizenship project born out of that resolution will last until June 2026.

Meanwhile, Mr Nirat, from the DoPA, visited Chiang Mai’s Fang district on Tuesday to inspect the implementation of the cabinet resolution on legal status applications.

Local officials reported difficulties due to limited office space and staff shortages, which meant applicants faced delays. The agency has fixed this by obtaining more office tools and hiring more staff to service 100 applicants a day.

In the past three months, 8,200 applicants have obtained citizenship. Nearly 23,000 people are expected to complete the process in the next nine months, said Mr Nirat.

Separately, Fang district chief, Nopparut Suphakitgosol, said the village headman in tambon Mae Kha accused of charging each applicant 4,000 baht for processing has resigned.