Chinese scammers have been hiring Thai men to register marriages with their Chinese wives so that their Chinese-born children can obtain Thai citizenship, according to the Department of Provincial Administration.

The department made the revelation on Thursday, a day after the arrest in Bangkok of six people — one of them a district official in Thon Buri — in connection with fraudulent documents. A similar scam was uncovered in Nakhon Ratchasima just a few days earlier, and authorities believe more discoveries are pending.

Officials said the practice was first discovered following the arrest of Chen Yon Lai in April 2024. The Chinese national was suspected of laundering about 70 billion baht for call scam centres in the region.

According to the department, money was transferred through many mule accounts to a Chinese woman believed to be Mr Chen’s wife. The woman had three children who surprisingly had Thai nationality.

When Mr Chen, now 54, was arrested at a luxury house in Bangkok, he held a five-year visa as he was a Thailand Privilege Card holder. 

Further investigation revealed that a Thai man was hired to “marry” the woman so that the children received Thai citizenship.

Officials found that other Chinese men in the same network hired Thai men to register marriages with their Chinese wives for the same purpose.

Investigators have found at least five cases of such fraudulent marriage registrations and Thai citizenship acquisition for Chinese children. Some private organisations, with help from corrupt government officials, were said to facilitate the arrangements.

People who receive Thai citizenship have rights to possess property, do business and travel to and from Thailand conveniently.

“They could be used to launder money, be nominees holding properties for others and expand transnational criminal networks which greatly threaten national order and security,” the department said.

Police on Wednesday also arrested two Chinese people and three Thai men who had been hired for fake marriages. Officials are now searching for other wrongdoers, the department said.