The lack of Thai citizenship is a serious problem facing hilltribe people in Thailand. Without Thai citizenship an individual is effectively a non-person; they are unable to vote, buy land, seek legal employment or travel between provinces. They are also denied access to secondary education and free government health care. Currently, about 50% of all hilltribe peoples who have a legitimate claim to Thai citizenship remain without it.

The process of acquiring Thai citizenship is a long and difficult one complicated by bureaucracy and considerable corruption. The process is further complicated for the Thai government by the tens of thousands of hilltribe people who illegally enter Thailand each year in an effort to escape the oppressive military regime in Myanmar. To gain Thai citizenship, one must prove that both he and one of his parents were born in Thailand. The lack of birth documentation in remote villages makes this restriction a compounded obstacle. A child who needs to prove that one of his parents was born in Thailand, must first prove that one of his grandparents was born in Thailand, and so on.

The Mirror Art Group has attacked the problem of Thai citizenship in a number of ways. At the most basic level, we help navigate people who may speak and read little or no Thai through this complex process. We also have used the internet to lead a vocal campaign against corrupt local officials and to compile a database of the nationality details of 2,000 local villagers so government officials can complete the process more quickly and efficiently. On a national level, we continue to lobby for more favorable citizenship laws for hilltribe people. To date, The Mirror Art Group has assisted over 2,000 people in acquiring Thai citizenship, and is working toward acquiring citizenship for the other 4,000 legally born Thai tribal people within Mae Yao sub-district who remain without citizenship.

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