This research examined how the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) can improve upon the common economic community through the revision of policies related to labor and migration. The literature review suggested that economic prosperity and growth are significantly related to national openness to naturalization and foreign investment. | Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences 38 2017 233e241 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences journal homepage http locate kjss Thailand s role in updating ASEAN immigration policy Palapan Kampan a Adam Richard Tanielian b a Research Center National Institute for Development Administration Bangkok 10240 Thailand b Preparatory Year Deanship King Faisal University Hofuf Saudi Arabia a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history This research examined how the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN can Received 3 February 2015 improve upon the common economic community through the revision of policies related Received in revised form 11 May 2016 to labor and migration. The literature review suggested that economic prosperity and Accepted 20 July 2016 growth are significantly related to national openness to naturalization and foreign in- Available online 18 August 2017 vestment. Citizenship laws from all 10 ASEAN states and several other nations were analyzed alongside economic indicators. Within ASEAN Thailand is considered central to Keywords widespread immigration law changes due to its leadership role in the region. Human ASEAN rights aspects of citizenship and migration were assessed and potential solutions posed for immigration the high incidence of statelessness in Myanmar and Thailand. In order to support international trade consistent long-term economic growth and protection of human rights the research labor migration recommends various statutory revisions and the implementation of an executive strategic naturalization plan to protect alien laborers. For the purposes of developing globally-competitive econ- omies in ASEAN the research supports expansive access to citizenship by descent birth- right and by naturalization with full recognition of multiple citizenship. 2017 Kasetsart University. Publishing services by Elsevier . This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license .
