Thailand

Asylum Access Thailand has been securing the rights of refugees since 2007.

INTRODUCING ASYLUM ACCESS THAILAND

Established in 2007, Asylum Access Thailand (AAT) is dedicated to providing friendly, effective, and comprehensive support to the many refugee communities that live in Bangkok and throughout Thailand. We help refugees navigate the complex asylum process and connect them to further assistance from local partners. Our team also supports refugees to undertake training and start their own initiatives to benefit and strengthen their communities.

Asylum Access Thailand also works in close collaboration with other Thai and regional human rights organizations. Through these partnerships, we collectively advocate for changes in Thai laws and policies that will allow refugees and their families to live openly, move freely, rebuild their lives, and contribute to their host communities.

We are proud members of

The Coalition for Rights of Refugees and the Stateless Persons (CRSP)
Myanmar Response Network (MRN)
The Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN)

Refugees in Thailand

Thailand has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention and presently has no laws in place to provide refugees with any legal status. In effect, this means the thousands of refugees living in urban areas are undocumented. This puts them at constant risk of arrest, detention and deportation back to danger by the Thai authorities.

Life for refugees and their families under these circumstances is exceptionally difficult and stressful. Despite these challenging conditions, Asylum Access Thailand has built a strong support system to stand with refugees as they rebuild their lives in Thailand.

Following years of advocacy work, the Thai government will soon start recognizing refugees and granting them a legal right to stay. As a result, refugees will begin to walk down the street without fear. We will be here to help the refugee community navigate this new system and ensure it is implemented in full respect of refugees’ human rights.

OUR PROGRAMS

Community Engagement

Our Community Engagement team (CE) promotes a sustainable response to forced displacement while honoring refugees’ and asylum seekers’ freedom, dignity and autonomy. We provide ongoing training to build and enhance capacities. We provide small scale income opportunities and support leadership for refugees who want to become advocates for their communities. Our approach empowers refugees and asylum seekers to rebuild their lives and to become a strong voice for their own interests and concerns.

Learn more about Community Empowerment at Asylum Access Thailand.

Legal Aid

Asylum applications in Thailand are currently handled by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The process can be lengthy, complicated and often traumatic. We provide our clients with the legal and social support to help them navigate this process and obtain refugee status.

Learn more about Legal Empowerment at Asylum Access.

Learn more about Legal Clinic by Paralegal.

Policy Advocacy

We work alongside other human rights groups to advocate for changes to Thai law that will restore the safety and dignity of refugees in the country. We are pushing for a Thailand in which all refugees can feel safe and rebuild their lives.

Learn more about Policy Advocacy at Asylum Access Thailand.

Learn more about Policy Change at Asylum Access.

Latest Updates

AAT Announcements

OUR IMPACT

Serving the refugee community

As an established, trusted ally to the refugee communities in Thailand, we are proud of the support we have provided to our clients.

Over 2,500 refugees reached each year, including 80% of the estimated urban refugee population.
We have supported over 25,000 refugee clients since our founding in 2007.
We have trained 25refugee paralegals and 21 community interpreters across 20 languages.
We have worked with 14 community-led initiatives to strengthen the support network available to refugees.

Advancing the rights of refugees in Thailand

Through collaborative efforts with local and regional human rights partners, Asylum Access Thailand has contributed to the following policy advances:

2023 – the Thai government fully implements its own asylum process that grants legal status for asylum seekers in the country for the first time.
2022 – the Thai government passes the first law which includes non-refoulement, the concept that asylum seekers cannot be forcibly returned to their country of origin, in cases of torture.
2021 – the Thai government expands its Memorandum of Understanding pledging to end the detention of children to expand non-detention to the parents of refugee children as well.
2020 – the Thai government begins implementing its own asylum process that will grant legal status for asylum seeker in the country for the very first time.
2019 – the Thai government signs a Memorandum of Understanding that pledged to end the detention of children in the country.
2016 – the Thai government formally pledges to provide asylum seekers with legal status at the Global Refugee Summit.
2016 – the Thai government agrees to reform its use of detention following criticism from nine governments through the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process.
2014 – the Thai government agrees to release refugee children from detention without bail.

Learn more about Asylum Access’s global impact on the Our Impact page.

Current Opportunities

Call for Interpreters

AAT is seeking to employ interpreters for Somali, Jai, and Urdu languages to join our friendly and professional team.

Call for Community Paralegal

AAT is seeking one individual of Arab ethnicity and two individuals from the Khmer community with lived experience of forced displacement to join our team of community paralegals.

NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS