Interior Ministry Orders Village Chiefs to Document Homes, Vehicles for Welfare Card Appeals

Deputy Interior Minister Palpeer Suwannachawi announced that the Interior Ministry has instructed village chiefs and headmen to re-inspect residents' homes and vehicles, taking photographs as evidence to support appeals for state welfare cards, with the goal of helping as many low-income people as possible.

At a press conference on July 23, 2025, at Government House, Palpeer explained that after seeing public complaints about the welfare card rollout results, the Interior Ministry decided that local administration officials must provide maximum assistance to citizens. This led to the establishment of one-stop mobile service centers so residents won't need to travel far or visit district offices.

However, the Interior Ministry will do more than that. Officials will coordinate with all relevant agencies to verify various criteria, such as vehicle ownership. District officials will conduct checklists to verify information. Additionally, village chiefs, headmen, and district officers will visit every residence to assess actual conditions. For vehicles, for example, they will help confirm details to the Transport Ministry or notify them if a registered vehicle has been idle and is no longer usable.

Palpeer emphasized another major concern: cases where individuals have had their names fraudulently used in company accounts, stock holdings, or other accounts without their knowledge. These cases will be investigated further to determine which companies used people's names and whether those individuals actually consented to such use, whether in money laundering schemes, nominee accounts, grey-market businesses, or other fraudulent arrangements. The Interior Ministry is taking these investigations seriously.

When asked whether officials are confident they can catch all people with eligibility problems who file appeals, Palpeer said there is no quota for how many people will participate, but there is genuine intent to properly screen people with low incomes so the government can assist them through the state welfare card program.

He said that after collecting nationwide data, it will be sent to relevant agencies for additional screening. The Finance Ministry is expected to announce a clear timeline today, requesting an extension until September 20, 2025, to give people time to prepare supporting documents such as company names, assets, bank accounts, insurance policies, and other financial records.

Administration officials must give people time to prepare documents before forwarding them to relevant agencies, and the agencies also need time to process the information.

Palpeer noted that the Interior Ministry previously coordinated with the Finance Ministry to request the names of people who fell through the cracks, but this may not be legally possible due to privacy restrictions. Therefore, administration officials will verify directly whether people listed actually reside in their registered areas. He also announced that people living outside their registered hometown can file appeals at any district office in their current area of residence.

When asked how officials can ensure that only genuinely poor residents are identified, given past problems where village chiefs included their own relatives in welfare card lists, Palpeer did not fully address the concern in the available portion of his statement.