Minister of Interior Sar Kheng praised the government for its efforts in managing and monitoring immigration at a meeting on the Foreigners Present in Cambodia System app (FPCS) on Tuesday.
He said more than 160,000 foreigners from 183 countries have registered on the app.
Sar Kheng, who chaired the meeting at the Ministry of Interior, said despite criticism, the government has managed foreigners and immigrants well.
He said the current government has better managed foreigners and immigrants since the interior ministry established the General Department of Immigration (GDI).
GDI director-general Kirth Chantharith said at the meeting that Cambodia launched FPCS in mid-2019.
According to a ministry announcement, from July 1 onward, foreigners not registered in FPCS would not be granted visa extensions. The announcement sent foreigners rushing to register on the app.
Chantharith said: “It is noteworthy that the number of registered [foreigners’] in the FPCS system has increased to more than 160,000 with 183 nationalities and continues to grow daily.
“The data shows that there are about 110,000 foreigners currently in Cambodia. Foreigners who recently applied for visa extensions have registered their presence in the FPCS system.”
The GDI used a computer-based foreigner management system before switching to the more user-friendly FPCS app.
FPCS can be used on phones, iPads and computers and there’s no need to enter data line by line. Scanner technology within the app can retrieve information from passports quickly.
Using the system allows authorities to monitor how many foreigners are currently in the country and how many enter and leave each day.
A 2019 census data said 89,786 immigrants from 11 countries applied for temporary or permanent residency in the country. Among them, 89,471 were Vietnamese.
The Ministry of Interior also confiscated 37,436 irregular Cambodian administrative documents possessed by foreigners from 2017 to June 30, last year.
Currently, foreigners with irregular documents are being issued permanent residence permits valid for two years by the Ministry of Interior to ensure they complied with the law.
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