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Vincent Tan

After last year’s border conflict with Cambodia, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers left Thailand, exposing how dependent parts of its economy had become on cross-border labour.
Thailand has tried to ease the squeeze by holding on to workers already in the country, especially Myanmar nationals. But figures from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and warnings from employer groups point to a deeper problem: a workforce built around proximity, familiarity and low travel costs cannot be quickly recreated through permit extensions.
Bringing in new labour legally is proving far more difficult, constrained by conflict, Myanmar’s exit controls and rising travel and brokerage costs.
The exact size of the Cambodian exodus is contested because of the calculation methods.
Last March, Thailand’s Department of Employment logged 495,271 authorised Cambodian workers – a figure dwarfed by Myanmar nationals, who made up 2.27 million of 3.14 million legal workers from nine Southeast Asian countries. A Labour Ministry analysis published six months later cited a Cambodian estimate of 780,000 returns, including undocumented migrants and family members.
For Thai employers, however, it is not how many workers have left but who remain available.
In a May report by Reuters, Wiboon Suphakarnpongkul, vice-chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, speaking on behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB), was cited as saying the number of Cambodian workers had dropped from 550,000 to 194,000.

The JSCCIB, which groups the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Bankers’ Association, warned that shortages were affecting seasonal agriculture, manufacturing, construction, tourism and services, with risks to fruit harvesting, rice-export logistics and factory output.
It called on the government to extend work permits, ease registration costs and procedures, fix problems with its electronic work permit system and speed up recruitment agreements with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
This Week In Asia has reached out to the agencies for comment on the scale of the impact as of August.
Extending permits
In line with those calls, Thailand has moved to keep more of its remaining migrant workforce legally employed, with the cabinet extending work permissions for eligible Myanmar, Laotian and Vietnamese workers until December 11, 2027.
But the policy also underscores Thailand’s dependence on workers already inside the country.
ILO figures show Thailand had 4.04 million documented migrant workers as of May, but only 545,153 had entered through bilateral memorandums of understanding – including 179,787 Myanmar nationals. A further 836 were registered under the border employment scheme.
By contrast, slightly over 3.5 million migrants were working under cabinet resolutions granting or extending permission to stay and work. That category included nearly 3.3 million Myanmar nationals.
Labour analysts say that makes permit extensions useful as a stabilising measure, but not a replacement strategy. This may help factories, farms and service businesses avoid a second shock, but does not necessarily refill jobs in the eastern border areas where Cambodian labour has disappeared.

Non-government organisation Migrant Workers Rights Network (MWRN) said the latest measures did not provide a legal pathway for workers whose four-year contracts had expired or for new arrivals who entered through informal routes.
“For workers who have no available options or legal status, our organisation is unable to provide direct assistance in terms of regularising their status,” MWRN told This Week in Asia.
The group could only counsel such undocumented workers to avoid getting picked up by authorities, while they waited for the Thai government to open another registration period.
Other sources
Thailand has also tried to diversify its labour supply.
Last August, media reports said the Thai government had approved the recruitment of an initial 10,000 Sri Lankan workers. According to the Sri Lankan embassy in February, both sides had concluded negotiations, but a projected ministerial-level signing for the same quarter had not materialised.
Long-distance recruitment also introduces costs that are largely absent from migration across Thailand’s land borders.
ILO told This Week in Asia that from Thailand’s perspective, it would be more advantageous to source workers from neighbouring countries. “Other means will add airfare as a cost. In case of workers from Sri Lanka, the airfare costs should not be passed on to workers. However, employers in Thailand may be reluctant to bear these costs.”


Myanmar still remains Thailand’s most important source for existing and prospective migrant labour.
On August 6, Thailand and Myanmar signed an updated memorandum on labour cooperation and an agreement on the employment of workers.
However, MWRN said this deal “holds no real meaning” for Myanmar nationals, citing tighter overseas-employment controls and scrutiny by a national committee.
The route into Thailand has also become more costly and hazardous. Workers were increasingly travelling by air because of insecurity around land-border routes. “Those unable to use formal channels often turn to brokers for irregular crossings, and fees start at about 30,000 baht (US$1,000),” the organisation said.
In addition, broker and agency charges begin at about 8 million kyat (US$2,000). The final cost varies depending on whether workers also require job placement or registration support.
Males aged 18 to 35 are also restricted from leaving Myanmar because of the country’s military conscription law.
ILO said previous research found that migrant workers in Thailand usually paid an average of about two months’ wages for recruitment fees and related costs.
The agency said it had not yet assessed how the latest restrictions and cost increases affected indebtedness or forced-labour risks. But it identified two factors likely to have made migration from Myanmar more expensive: the need for workers to travel by air and a complex regularisation process conducted only in Thai that commonly requires brokers.
“While recruitment fees and related costs should not be borne by workers, covering airfare costs is not an employer obligation in Thai legislation,” ILO said.
The agency said the regularisation process was laudable in providing eligible migrant workers with an opportunity for documentation, but did not appear to have been sufficiently regulated from a recruitment perspective.


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Thailand

How Cambodian worker exodus exposes Thailand’s fragile labour model

Cambodian migrant workers cross the border at Ban Laem Border checkpoint in Chanthaburi province, Thailand, in July last year to return to their home amid the deadly border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. Photo: Reuters

Thai soldiers guard a checkpoint near the border between Thailand and Cambodia, in the Pong Nam Ron district of Chanthaburi. Photo: SOPA Images

Cambodian migrant workers cross from Thailand into Cambodia at the Ban Laem checkpoint in Chanthaburi, Thailand, in July last year. Photo: dpa

Migrant workers from Myanmar at work in a shrimp factory in Mahachai, on the outskirts of Bangkok. Photo: AFP

A Thai soldier stands guard as workers construct a section of the border fence between Thailand and Cambodia in Pong Nam Ron district, Chanthaburi province, in July. Photo: Reuters

Thailand hits back at ‘inaccuracies’ in UN expert’s Cambodia findings

A concrete sign bearing the word “SIAM” is displayed at the base of a gate along a section of the border fence between Thailand and Cambodia in Pong Nam Ron district, Chanthaburi province, in Thailand on July. Photo: Reuters

Tom Andrews, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia, speaks at a press conference in Phnom Penh on Friday. Photo: EPA

Thailand’s Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow says there are assertions in the UN rights specialist’s findings on Cambodia “that the Thai government cannot accept”. Photo: EPA

People take shelter inside a bunker amid deadly clashes between Thailand and Cambodia along a disputed border area in Sa Kaeo province, Thailand, on December 10, 2025. Photo: Reuters

Cambodian jobseekers fear debt trap over Thailand’s border reinforcement

A Thai soldier stands guard while workers in the Pong Nam Ron district of Chanthaburi erect a section of the border fence between Thailand and Cambodia. Photo: SOPA Images

Vin Lors, a 37-year-old Cambodian, working at a construction site in Phnom Penh in August. He used to work in construction in Thailand. Photo: Sinorn Thang 

People take refuge in Banteay Menchey province, Cambodia, in December after fleeing home following fighting along the Thailand-Cambodia border. Photo: AP

Cambodian soldiers stand in front of Thailand’s containers and barbed wires deployed in Banteay Meanchey province, Cambodia, in March 2026. Photo: EPA

Residents evacuating following air strikes in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province, amid clashes along the Cambodia-Thailand border in December. Photo: AFP/Agence Kampuchea Press

Smuggled chicken discovery hints at Cambodian shortages amid Thai border row

Cambodian boats stopped by Thai authorities earlier this month in Thailand’s eastern coastal province of Trat. Photo: Facebook / RTNSpokesperson

Thai officers trudged through the mangrove forest in the Hat Lek area of Trat and found dozens of plastic bags containing rotten chicken stuck among the tree roots. Photo: NBT

An employee pumps petrol into a customer’s motorbike in Phnom Penh on April 1. Cambodia’s government has spent tens of millions of dollars importing fuel. Photo: AFP

Cambodian vendors sell their food on a main street in front of the royal palace in Phnom Penh on April 15. Cambodia’s economy is taking a pummelling from the oil crisis. Photo: AP

Cambodia seeks economic reset after Thailand border war batters trade and remittances

Cambodian migrant workers cross from Thailand into Cambodia at the Ban Laem checkpoint in Chanthaburi on July 28, 2025. At least 20,000 people were estimated to be returning to Cambodia amid fighting along the Thai–Cambodian border around that time despite reported peace talks. Photo: dpa

Thai soldiers stand beside barbed wire in Thma Da, Pursat province on February 7. Thai forces said they had taken control of disputed areas along the border during fighting with Cambodia in 2025. Photo: AFP

Military police patrol a main road in Kamrieng as migrant workers re-enter Cambodia through the Daung International Border Checkpoint on August 6, 2025. Photo: AP

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An estimated 780,000 Cambodian workers have left Thailand since last year’s border conflicts, affecting a wide range of industries


An estimated 780,000 Cambodian workers have left Thailand since last year’s border conflicts, affecting a wide range of industries.


How Cambodian worker exodus exposes Thailand’s fragile labour model

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}An estimated 780,000 Cambodian workers have left Thailand since last year’s border conflicts, affecting a wide range of industries

An estimated 780,000 Cambodian workers have left Thailand since last year’s border conflicts, affecting a wide range of industries