A Change of Guard

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Sunday 22 June 2014

Cambodian influx likely after passport fee cut

A Cambodian decree slashing the passport fee for would-be migrant workers to only $4 (about Bt120) is expected to lead to an influx of workers from the neighbouring country into Thailand.

Cambodian migrant workers who have just returned to Cambodia yesterday greeted the news with joy, in the hope of crossing back to work in Thailand legally. 


Thai immigration officials working in the border province of Sa Kaew said they expected a large number of Cambodians to apply for the low-priced passports so that they could work legally in Thailand.



More than 100,000 mostly illegal migrant workers from Cambodia have left Thailand in a rare exodus over the past week following rumours that the junta was planning a violent crackdown on them. The ruling National Council for Peace and Order has repeatedly dismissed the rumour.



Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday issued a sub-decree mandating that passports for migrant workers and those studying abroad on scholarship cost only $4 and that the passports be delivered to the applicants within 20 days, the Phnom Penh Post reported.



The usual passport fee for a Cambodian national is $124 (about Bt3,800).



Workers pleased



"Having granted ordinary passports for migrant workers who must go to work abroad legally, the tax will be the state's burden, but the migrant workers must pay $4 for the cost of photographs," the decree says.



Tith Sothea, spokesman for Cambodia's Press and Quick Reaction Unit, said the decision had been made in an effort to "reduce the burden" on workers and students who want to go abroad, the Cambodia Daily reported yesterday.



Cambodian immigration officials in the border town of Poipet said yesterday that many Cambodian workers and vendors had asked them to confirm the report about the cheap passports. Those workers and vendors were obviously pleased with their confirmation, according to the officials.



A 30-year-old Cambodian worker who has just returned from Thailand said yesterday that he was happy to hear about the government's decision to reduce the passport fee. He would apply for his passport and he would come back to work in Thailand soon after he got it. "This time I will work in Thailand legally," he added.



Police Lt-Colonel Benjapol Rodsawat, deputy commander of Sa Kaew Immigration Police, said yesterday that he expected the problem of illegal labour from Cambodia would be reduced if Cambodians could get their passports for only $4 each.



"A lot of Cambodians will apply for the cheap passports to work in Thailand. It's easier for us to deal with workers who enter Thailand legally," he said.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

aren't students who go to study abroad mostly from rich , well to do families ? so why just 4 dollars for those who could afford it ? unless the student gets scholarship from the sponsoring country , the tuition abroad is not cheap , plus one has to have some pocket money for food and medical... even if the school provides food for free , i doubt the khmer student will be able to eat their food ; the food is mostly over cooked and has no taste -- just bland; in the US MOST students owe from 150 000 to 250 000 dollars in tuition fee after graduating--- not counting daily expenses-- and right now most of them are unemployed...or are working in a fields not related to their study..like fast food restaurant... and that is a fact.

Anonymous said...

THIS IS GOOD NEWS FOR IMMIGRANT WORKERS TO CROSS BORDER LEGALLY, BUT THIS COULD ALSO BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CPP TO ACHIEVE POLITICAL GAIN BY PUSHING OUT KHMER WORKERS AND IN WITH VIETNAMES PEOPLE INTO CAMBODIA.

THIS COULD BE ANOTHER TACTICS THAT YOUN ADVISED HUN SEN TO PROCEED FOR THE NEXT COMING ELECTIONS. INFLUX MAXEDOUS OF VIETNAM INTO CAMBODIA COULD MEAN DEATH TO THE NATION. WHAT DO YOU THINK?