The migration of the Shan ethnic group to Chiang Mai and other parts of the northern region was initially caused by political factors due to political changes and wars between various Burmese opposition groups and the Burmese government. Later migrations were undertaken due to economic factors, lack of land ownership, infertile arable land, insufficient incomes and suppression by the military.They migrated to Chiang Mai because they had relatives there as well as having linguistic and cultural similarities, making cultural adjustment easy. Furthermore, the labor market and living conditions were better than those in Shan State. They were not afraid of military attacks. Due to the close proximity of Shan State to Chiang Mai, travelling back and forth was convenient. Furthermore, the Thai government did not implement a forced repatriation policy. The immigrants travelled directly to Chiang Mai without stopping along the route through Mae Sariang, Wiang Haeng, Fang and Mae Sai Districts before heading to Chiang Mai. Some went further to Bangkok.  In Chiang Mai, if they had ID cards and knowledge, they could easily find good jobs and their living conditions would be better. If not, they were forced into a labor-intensive market with bad living conditions and exploitation by some state officials and employers.