The Emergence of the Temporary Migrant: Bureaucracies, Legality and Myanmar Migrants in Thailand

The national verification process that has provided formalized guidelines to regulate the migration of Myanmar workers to Thailand permanently places migrants in a zone of temporary legality. This zone is a bureaucratic space in which legality surfaces as a flexible concept serving the interests of the Thai and Myanmar states while placing an economic burden on migrants. Legality also emerges as a commodity that does not relate to migrants' compliance with the law, but rather to their ability to mobilize resources. Brokers not only guide migrants in navigating the transnational bureaucracies, but also mediate the emotional ties between migrants and those bureaucracies. The emotional undercurrents of the process ultimately serve as a reminder that any bureaucratic space is inherently affective.