Cambodia's Visa Regs So Much Easier Than Thailand's?

[Edge]

Many threads complaining about Thailand's crackdown on Visa abuse point to Cambodia as the way to go.

 

So what's this all about?

 

According to Lt. Gen. Leakna, visa renewals for long-term residents will also be affected. He said new arrivals to Cambodia can acquire a one-month business visa then apply for a one-year extension.

“But after one year, if you can’t find a job, you have to go out of Cambodia and cannot extend more,” he said.

 

https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/govt-to-strictly-enforce-work-permit-law-from-next-week-75520/

[nixonsbest]

The way I read that is after a years extension, you just have to re enter on a business visa and extend for another year!

[Edge]

The way I read that is after a years extension, you just have to re enter on a business visa and extend for another year!

Work Permit Enforcement Provokes Confusion

Tuesday, 13 January 2015; News by Khmer Times/Donald Lee, Ros Chanveasna and Nov Sivutha

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Heng Sour, the Labor Ministry spokesman, explains the Ministry’s role in enforcing laws. (KT Photo: Donald Lee)

 

PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – The Kingdom’s crackdown on foreigners without work permits began this week.

 

The Interior Ministry announced last week that its immigration police department would take a more active role in policing and enforcing the 1997 Labor Law. This law requires all foreigners working in Cambodia to hold a work permit along with the appropriate business visa. The enforcement of the law will come in the form of sweeping inspections by the Interior and Labor Ministries’ joint task force.

 

Labor Ministry spokesman Heng Sour reiterated in an interview with the Khmer Times that any foreigners who work without a work permit are breaking the law, and they and their employers will be subject to penalties if caught.

 

“We will inspect all foreigners who work in Cambodia,” said Mr. Sour. “We appeal to the foreigners to pay attention to our request and follow our laws.”

 

He reaffirmed that any working foreigner without a work permit is “living illegally” and must take responsibility by obtaining a permit from the Labor Ministry in the same way they do in securing a visa to stay in the country.

 

“All foreigners must apply for a work [business] visa in the Interior Ministry to legally live in Cambodia. And also they must apply for a work permit at the Labor Ministry,” said Mr. Sour.

 

Uk Heisela, chief of investigations at the Interior Ministry’s immigration department, confirmed that the inspections were to start, but did not know – or chose not to divulge – if specific regions or businesses would be targeted.

 

“I don’t know the location and exact date, but the [immigration] police and Labor Ministry have planned to investigate throughout the country,” said Mr. Uk. 

 

Why has the government ramped up enforcement now?

 

According to Mr. Sour, the active enforcement of work permits stems from the fact that the Kingdom now has the resources and organization that it did not have previously to police the permit requirements.

 

“We implemented this law since 1997. At that time we did not have the mechanism to inspect the companies that illegally employed the foreign workers,” he said. 

 

Another major obstacle in previous years was that the Interior Ministry and the Labor Ministry performed inspections independently, and business owners and foreign workers could buy time by telling the respective government inspectors that their documents were being processed.

 

“That’s why before [the recent permit enforcement] when the Labor Ministry did an inspection, the foreigners would say they were applying for a visa with the Interior Ministry. And when the Interior Ministry did an inspection they’d say they were applying for a work permit,” Mr. Sour said. “But in fact they did nothing.”

 

The more effective enforcement today is based on the partnership between the Labor and Interior Ministries, according to Mr. Sour. “With this joint inspection, foreigners, along with the owners of companies, have no more room – no excuses.” According to the Labor Ministry, the number of foreign workers applying for a work permit nearly doubled since the stricter enforcement began. “Usually we have about 9,000 foreign workers apply for the work permit. But in 2014, we noticed the figure nearly doubled – it jumped to 17,000,” said Mr. Heng.

 

Do expats have reason to be anxious about the new situation?

 

There has been much confusion and consternation among the expat community about the specifics of what is required, and the retroactive penalties involved, especially among those who’ve worked for years in the Kingdom without a permit. And Mr. Sour admitted that he was aware of the anxiety the joint taskforce has created. “It’s [been] like thunder to the foreigners,” he said about the reaction to the sweeping permit inspections.

 

Many of the foreign workers of various nationalities, volunteers and retirees the Khmer Times interviewed expressed anxiety and trepidation over the ambiguous statements and subliminal threats from the Interior Ministry and Labor Ministry. Nearly all of the foreign workers refused to go on record for fear of reprisals from authorities and said they felt needlessly intimidated.

 

Mr. Sour was still adamant about the authorities’ enforcing the rule of law in the Kingdom, even after the foreign workers’ anxiety was relayed to him.

 

“If they have a [business] visa, an accommodation to stay in the country, but they don’t request and get a work permit from the Ministry of Labor –then we’ll fine them, both the workers and their companies,” he said.

 

He added bluntly: “If they still [refuse] to follow our laws, negatively impacting our country, [then] we will deport them to their country of origin.”

 

The expected enforcement has not only made the expat population insecure but has also confused travel agencies that service business visas for foreigners.

 

Dalina Chen, a travel agent at Sophya Travel and Tours in Phnom Penh, admitted to not understanding how work permit enforcement would affect visa renewals.

 

“Before, you just brought a passport with a business visa and a photo to renew the visa,” she said and laughed. “Now [i’m confused about] whether they require a visa, a photo, and a work permit certificate. I don’t know what it’s about.”

 

Other visa servicing agents were insistent that nothing would change and all this consternation was just based on rumors. “You take a passport and one photo – no need for anything else,” said Sokly Sok, an agent at STB Travel. 

 

“All you need is that. That’s all.” 

 

The Work Permit and Foreigner Employment Card that every foreigner working in Cambodia should have. (KT Photo: Donald Lee)

 

[Edge]

Meanwhile, Thailand is saying this might be through by mid Feb allowing 6 or 12 month Visas for all.

 

The roles may yet be reversed and Thailand be the easiest.

 

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/791589-ministry-of-foreign-affairs-proposes-multiple-visa-1-year-3000-thb-sunbelt-asia/?p=8933241

 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposes Multiple Visa

January 12, 2015

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The legislature is currently reviewing a proposal from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to allow all foreign visitors the ability to apply for a “Multiple Visa” which would allow visitors to stay for six months for 2,000 baht or one year for 3,000 baht. The details of the visa have yet to be revealed but the Ministry is hoping that the legislature will approve the proposal by Chinese New Year next month. The Association of Thai Travel Agents believes that while the project would definitely help facilitate tourists’ stay, they are unsure if it would actually bring more visitors to Thailand.