The Royal Thai Police are fully prepared to receive Thai nationals returning from Cambodia immediately once coordination is successful. It is estimated that 7,000 to 8,000 Thais want to return, but Cambodia currently has no policy to repatriate them.
On 12 Dec 2025 GMT+7, Pol Maj Gen Siriwat Deepho, Deputy Spokesperson of the Royal Thai Police, stated that Thailand’s request for humanitarian cooperation from Cambodia to allow stranded Thai citizens to cross back, especially at the Ban Khlong Luek permanent border checkpoint in Aranyaprathet District, Sa Kaeo Province, is ongoing. The Royal Thai Police are 100% ready to receive all returning Thais as soon as coordination succeeds.
The Royal Thai Police, through Provincial Police Region 2, the Technology Crime Suppression Division, the Central Investigation Bureau, the Immigration Bureau, the Police Forensic Science Office, and the Tourist Police Bureau, together with Eastern Military Command, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have prepared to receive returning Thai nationals entering the kingdom.
Returning Thais must undergo reception and screening following the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) in line with international standards to separate and verify entry-exit documents and check for links to transnational crime networks for prosecution. Those not involved in crimes will be assisted to return to their home provinces.
At a meeting room in Sa Kaeo Province, Pol Lt Gen Surapol Prembut, Commander of the Technology Crime Suppression Division, Pol Maj Gen Sarayut Junnawat, Commander of TSD 2, Pol Maj Gen Songklod Krikritaya, Commander of the Tourist Police Bureau, Pol Maj Gen Thawon Dulyawit, Commander of Sa Kaeo Provincial Police, along with cyber police, central investigators, Sa Kaeo provincial police, military officers from the 19th Military Circle, local administration, and social development officials, convened to set operational guidelines and assess readiness at Ban Khlong Luek border checkpoint.
Pol Lt Gen Surapol disclosed that the meeting set operational guidelines requiring Immigration officers and relevant units to prepare to accommodate any number of Thais released from Cambodia, with no daily limit on numbers. Effective screening will be conducted for returnees, including those with arrest warrants or complaints, who will be detained and prosecuted. All returnees must verify their identity biometrically through the Immigration Bureau and the Technology Crime Suppression Division using special operational tools for digital evidence collection (Cellebrite), supporting the creation of criminal records and enabling further investigation or prosecution.
Sa Kaeo Provincial Police has been designated as the operations center, using the gymnasium building at Burapha University’s Sa Kaeo campus as the screening site. Here, individuals will be separated under anti-human trafficking procedures, and those involved in crimes will be prosecuted accordingly.
Currently, over 100 Thais are waiting at the Cambodian side of the border to return to Thailand but are unable to cross. Intelligence indicates Cambodia has no policy to release Thais yet. It is preliminarily estimated that about 7,000 to 8,000 Thais wish to return voluntarily, not through emergency passport requests via embassies. They have coordinated via Facebook. Cambodian authorities in Poipet are currently holding meetings to discuss releasing Thais back to Thailand.