Various villagers whose state welfare card rights were revoked express how poverty must truly be proven or disproven.
On 17 July 2026, the government announced the qualification screening results for the “state welfare card” or the “poor people's card” under the 2026 program. From 18.8 million registrants, only 9.5 million qualified, while over 9.3 million were disqualified, sparking complaints about whether the criteria and screening were fair and effective.
Mr. Akniti Nitithanprapas, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, explained that the large number of disqualifications resulted from the government tightening and improving the screening system. Those who failed were given the chance to review and confirm their appeal rights.
Recently, the government revised the criteria, such as excluding cars over 20 years old and motorcycles over 15 years old from consideration, and extended the appeal deadline from 31 July to 20 September 2026.
Following the screening results announcement, many citizens complained about losing their rights due to failing certain criteria, such as owning too many vehicles or exceeding savings limits. Several verification errors were found, including cases like:
Boonnisa Khwanphet, a villager disqualified because the system showed ownership of three vehicles, while in reality, she owns only one.
"The system claims ownership of cars beyond the program’s limits, but I sold those cars 30 years ago. How could they still be mine? I've never bought or driven a car."
An 85-year-old blind and disabled man was disqualified due to recorded ownership of a motorcycle that was old, broken, and lost long ago.
A 67-year-old grandmother from Buriram province, living alone and surviving on boiled eggs, lost her poor people's card rights because she has a life insurance policy made by her son for future funeral expenses. An 86-year-old grandmother walked over 1 km to the bank to get help filing an appeal for her 90-year-old husband, who was disqualified because the system showed ownership of two cars, while in reality, they only have a bicycle that he cannot even ride.
The grandmother confirmed they do not own cars or motorcycles as the results indicated. “If we really had two cars, I wouldn’t bother doing this. Even one car is more than enough trouble.” Another grandmother from Nakhon Ratchasima was disqualified for owning an old motorcycle she bought 20 years ago and pleaded with the government to restore her rights, explaining that traveling to the Department of Land Transport to remove her name is difficult due to her age.
“I’m deeply saddened and don’t know how to express it. We are truly poor, genuinely struggling to survive day to day.”
Aunt Joo Somkhwan Pomtham, a farmer from Buriram province, told our news team she feels frustrated and advised not to trust all data in the system but to verify people’s real living conditions.
"The data they input is what you believe, right? Do you know how each person lives? People carrying cash don’t deposit it in banks. Would you dare search their pockets? I urge Deputy Prime Minister Anutin not to play with the poor people's system."
These cases show many people, especially elderly individuals living in hardship and alone, were harmed by failing the poor people's card criteria. It is the government's responsibility to urgently assist by adjusting criteria or thoroughly reviewing appeals to uncover the truth and ensure no deserving citizens lose their rights.