Some 46 children born to Myanmar migrants in Thailand and now living in an orphanage and studying at a school in the country have been granted Thai ID cards, according to the Social Action for Children and Women (SAW)organization.

Thai immigration authorities issued ID cards to all 46 students in Mae Sot district of Tak province, Thailand on Feb. 4. Being granted ID cards promises to transform their lives, said Daw Aye Aye Mar, the director of SAW.

The 46 children have documents showing that they were born at the Mae Tao Clinic or the Thai public hospital in Mae Sot. Daw Aye Aye Mar said her organization was careful to keep all their documents when taking the children into their care.

In the past, migrant children who did not have Thai ID cards were not able to study at Thai schools. However, in 2008, the Thai government removed this restriction for migrant children.

“After we learned about this, we tried to send our children to Thai schools, but we were not successful at first,” she said. She added that the group also tried to send some of the children to private schools, but it was very expensive.

She said that after the children attended the Thai schools for five years, the school authorities provided them with local Thai ID cards (known as 10-year-term ID cards). Those who receive the cards qualify for free medical treatment in Thailand when they are sick. The children can also travel freely to Chiang Mai for study trips, she said.

The 46 children are aged between 10 and 18 years old and study in the 4th to the 10th grades.