Preparations are underway to lift restrictions on the new welfare card criteria, with proposals to the Cabinet regarding ownership of old vehicles and the status of out-of-system students. The appeal submission deadline has been extended to 20 September 2026, aiming to restore rights to approved applicants by 1 October 2026.
The Ministry of Finance clarified the hot issue concerning poverty screening criteria not reflecting reality, which has caused people to lose access to the system. They are preparing supporting documents for appeal submissions.
The government is preparing a major revision of the State Welfare Card criteria after discovering many genuinely poor people failed the screening. They plan to propose to the Cabinet the removal of conditions related to ownership of old vehicles and the status of out-of-system students, extend the appeal deadline to 20 September 2026, and aim to restore rights to successful appellants by 1 October 2026.
On 20 July 2026, Winij Wisesuwanphoom, Director of the Fiscal Policy Office, explained that the new criteria aim to ensure welfare reaches the most vulnerable. So far, over 2.9 million people have filed appeals, with more than 40% involving issues related to vehicle ownership.
Problems with owning vehicles over 20 years old, abandoned cars, or unregistered transfers pose data system limitations, causing discrepancies between system checks and reality. This presents an opportunity to improve the database and for citizens to correctly transfer vehicle ownership to prevent future loss of rights.
The Ministry of Finance revealed it is open to considering educational status conditions. All appeals will be compiled and submitted to the State Welfare Card Committee for review before being presented to the Cabinet for approval, aiming to restore rights to qualifying individuals by 1 October 2026.
Regarding cases where citizens' income data shows withholding tax deductions despite no actual work or income, the Ministry of Finance stated it is possible that names were fraudulently used as employees to evade taxes. Investigations are underway to restore rights to those affected by such identity misuse.
Siriwong Angkasungkiat, Deputy Minister of Transport, revealed that after proposing to extend the appeal period to the Cabinet, the Prime Minister ordered the deadline to be extended from 31 July 2026 to 20 September 2026.
