Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is delaying the approval of an Interior Ministry announcement extending the stay in Thailand for Cambodian migrant workers whose work permits have expired.

According to a report on the Thai government’s website, Prime Minister’s Secretary-General Traisuree Traisoranakul said on Monday (10 November) that Anutin is putting the approval  on hold so that proper screenings can be conducted and laws strictly enforced. He has also ordered the Ministries of the Interior and Labour to ensure that the screening process is conducted properly.

Traisuree said that around 100,000 Cambodian migrants are living in Thailand with expired work permits or identities and addresses that have not been verified. She said that allowing them to stay without screening might pose security risks or lead to issues of illegal migration and transnational crime.

On 19 August 2025, the Cabinet of then-Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai approved the work permit extension for migrant workers from Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia to ease a labour shortage in Thailand.  It requires Interior Ministry approval to come into effect, however. According, to Traisuree, the new Prime Minister wants the Cabinet resolution revised to ensure proper oversight.

The decision to delay the approval came after two Thai soldiers stepped on a landmine while patrolling the Thai-Cambodian border around Huai Tamaria in Si Saket’s Kantharalak district. Traisuree did not say if the delay was related to the landmine incident.

Labour Minister Trinuch Thienthong said today (11 November), that the government is preparing to recruit replacement workers and is still planning to extend the stay of migrant workers from Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. She admitted that in the meantime, the agricultural sector might be affected, as the majority of its workers are Cambodians.

She noted that around 90,000 Cambodian migrants are now living in Thailand with expired documentation. They are unable to return to Cambodia due to the closure of border checkpoints.

Asked if Cambodian workers with expired permits will be deported, Trinuch said that she would need to discuss the matter with relevant agencies, including security officials.

She noted that the Prime Minister is aware of the issues, adding that measures are being planned to tackle the labour shortage, including granting work permits to people living in border refugee camps and finding replacement workers among migrants from Myanmar and Vietnam.