Overseas Thai people (Thai: คนไทยพลัดถิ่น, คนไทยในต่างแดน) number approximately 1.1 million persons worldwide. They can be roughly divided into two groups:
A "non-resident Thai" is a citizen of Thailand who holds a Thai passport and has temporarily emigrated to another country for employment, residence, education or any other purpose. The Bank of Thailand estimates that, as of 2016[update], 1,120,837 Thais worked overseas.[1]
Israel: As of 2018[update], a total of 24,746 Thais, mostly agricultural workers, temporarily resided in Israel. They reportedly earn a minimum of about 47,000 baht a month.[2][3]
Republic of Korea: As of September 2018[update], there were reportedly 192,163 Thais living in South Korea.[4] The Korean Justice Ministry estimates that the number of illegal Thai residents soared from 68,449 in 2017 to 122,192 as of August 2018.[5]
A "person of Thai origin" is a person of Thai origin or ancestry who was or whose ancestors were born in Thailand or other countries under Thai ancestry and holds non-Thai citizenship. A person of Thai origin might have been a citizen of Thailand and subsequently taken the citizenship of another country.
