Cabinet Eases State Welfare Card Eligibility, Adds 5.4 Million Beneficiaries

On July 14, 2025, at the Government House, Prime Minister's Spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek and Winij Visetsuwan, Director of the Fiscal Policy Office, announced Cabinet approval of revised eligibility standards for the 2025 state welfare card registration program. The revisions aim to ensure government assistance reaches low-income and vulnerable populations who are genuinely in distress, following a Prime Minister directive to review and update criteria in line with current conditions and public feedback.

The Cabinet approved four key amendments: First, it added 5.4 million marginalized individuals identified by the Interior Ministry during the June 4–21 registration period to undergo eligibility review. Second, it removed the criterion disqualifying parents of income earners who claim parental support tax deductions, to avoid inadvertently affecting those legitimate tax benefits. Third, it revised credit qualification limits to exclude agricultural loans from the 100,000-baht ceiling, recognizing that farm credit operates differently and may reflect disaster relief rather than credit-seeking behavior. Fourth, it set implementation dates: existing cardholders begin using new benefits on August 1, 2025, while newly approved applicants begin on October 1, 2025.

Ratchada stated that the committee will verify all beneficiaries against the revised standards and announce results on July 17 starting at 6:00 a.m. through multiple channels including the welfare website (https://welfare.mof.go.th), the Pao Tang app, the Thailand Government app, and five participating banks: Krung Thai Bank, Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, Government Savings Bank, Government Housing Bank, and the Islamic Bank of Thailand.