8 May 2020
Introduction
On 31 March 2020, the General Department of Immigration (“GDOI”) of the Ministry of Interior (“MOI”) issued Letter No. 0379 to implement measures of barring visa extension for foreigners living in Cambodia who are not listed in the Foreigners Present in Cambodia System (“FPCS”).
Based on the Circular No. 028 of the MOI dated 19 July 2019 on the Management of Foreigners Present in the Kingdom of Cambodia, the GDOI launched the FPCS in order for landlords or owners of residences of all types to report the presence of foreigners who are residing their properties. Furthermore, the GDOI established a Working Group to train the trainers of each commissariat of provincial-level police in order for them to in turn promote and train the landlords or owners of residences on the above system. As a result, the majority of owners have fully complied with their reporting duties, although there remains a number of such owners who are still yet to comply.
In light of the above, the GDOI has requested that, in order to serve the purposes of security and identification of criminals and terrorists living in Cambodia, the Minister of Interior not issue visa extensions for foreigners living in Cambodia who are not listed in the FPCS. Implementation to be effective from 1 July 2020.
Accordingly, on 27 April 2020, the GDOI issued Letter No. 0185 to all Commissariats of Provincial-Level Police to implement the above-mentioned measures – by informing landlords or owners of all types of residences to report the presence of foreigners residing in such residences to the FPCS, in order for such foreigners to be able to receive visa extensions from 1 July 2020.
For more information, please contact:
Matthew Rendall, Senior Partner, SokSiphana&associates (a member of ZICO Law)
matthew.rendall@zicolaw.com
