KANCHANABURI: A ceremony was held on Sunday in Thong Pha Phum district of this western border province to present Thai identification cards to a group of 304 new citizens.
Most of them are students of various educational institutes domiciled in Thong Pha Phum district. They were Thai nationality after proving they met the criteria set by the Interior Ministry's Provincial Administration Department.
The ceremony at the district office auditorium was chaired by Anan Nakniyom, the Kanchanaburi deputy governor.
Tassanai Sithinankul, 23, who represented the stateless persons who have been granted Thai nationality, led the group in taking an oath of allegiance. Mr Tassanai received a bachelor's degree in education with first class honours from Kanchanaburi Rajabhat University. The new Thai citizens sang the national anthem after the ceremony.
They were then presented with Thai ID cards.
Mr Tassanai said he and his family were very happy that the day they had long awaited had finally arrived. He said he had submitted a request for Thai nationality many times, most recently in 2017. He is now a contract teacher at Wang Takhian School in Thong Pha Phum district.
Now that he's a Thai citizen, he would apply to sit an examination for a teacher's post in government service, he said.
As of Aug 10, Thong Pha Phum district has received 1,478 requests for Thai nationality this year. Of them, 1,262 have undergone a verification process and 1,100 have been granted Thai nationality based on the criteria set by the Provincial Administration Department.