HONG KONG — Three of the 12 boys who were rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand last month have been granted Thai citizenship, along with their coach, the latest turn in a drama that captivated the world.

The move by Thailand’s military government is a stroke of luck for the boys, who play for a youth soccer team called Moo Pa, or the Wild Boars.

But it also highlights how common statelessness is in their landlocked corner of Southeast Asia, an impoverished region where a lack of citizenship routinely deprives people from ethnic-minority groups of basic rights. The three boys and their coach are members of the Shan minority, local news media reports said.

“For the Moo Pa team, it’s a really fast track” to citizenship, said Puttanee Kangkun, a specialist on human rights in Thailand for Fortify Rights, an advocacy group. But the process typically takes years, she added, and many stateless people in Thailand face restrictions on where they can work and travel.