Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - New working group created to revamp immigration law

New working group created to revamp immigration law

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
The minister says the existing law is outdated given technology advancements in the digital era. Interior Ministry

New working group created to revamp immigration law

Minister of Interior Sar Kheng has requested former justice minister Ang Vong Vathana to lead the interior ministry’s working group in drafting a bill to replace the existing immigration law, which he said is outdated given technology advancements in the digital era.

Sar Kheng made the request at the 18th meeting of the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development (NCDD) at the ministry on Wednesday.

“Almost everything needs to change. If we want to amend all of that, then I think we should make a new law,” he said.

To make a new law, he said, a request must be sent to Hun Sen. “I would like to inform you in advance that I have requested that Ang Vong Vathana, chairman of the committee on Immigration Law, revise it.

Sar Kheng said the immigration law was written in 1994 and many changes have been made to it over the years, and Cambodia just revised the law on nationality. “The law on immigration has been changed a lot, so we must form a committee to prepare a proposal to re-arrange the law,” he said.

The ministry said the law is aimed at ensuring the management of all foreigners in Cambodia, and to determine the rules and conditions that apply to foreigners entering, passing through and staying in the Kingdom.

The law applies to all foreigners, except in the case of the application of the rules of international law to which Cambodia is a signatory.

Even if the person has entered to live in the Kingdom before the law came into force, it applies to all foreigners entering, passing through and staying in Cambodia.

“The immigration work has been very successful, such as noting foreigner statistics. We have done it well. There are perhaps more than 80,000 foreigners only in the country,” Sar Kheng said.

On May 8, the ministry held a working group meeting to draft an amendment to the law on immigration, chaired by secretary of state Sok Phal.

Phal said the meeting was held to exchange ideas to prepare draft amendments to the Law on Immigration, which the working group passed on to Sar Kheng.

The group asked for more guidance at the Tuesday meeting. That is when Sar Kheng advised the group to submit a report to overhaul the law from scratch.

MOST VIEWED

  • Wing Bank opens new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004

    Wing Bank celebrates first anniversary as commercial bank with launch of brand-new branch. One year since officially launching with a commercial banking licence, Wing Bank on March 14 launched a new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004. The launch was presided over by

  • Girl from Stung Meanchey dump now college grad living in Australia

    After finishing her foundational studies at Trinity College and earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Ron Sophy, a girl who once lived at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump and scavenged for things to sell, is now working at a private

  • Ministry using ChatGPT AI to ‘ease workload’; Khmer version planned

    The Digital Government Committee is planning to make a Khmer language version of popular artificial intelligence (AI) technology ChatGPT available to the public in the near future, following extensive testing. On March 9, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications revealed that it has been using the

  • Rare plant fetches high prices from Thai, Chinese

    Many types of plants found in Cambodia are used as traditional herbs to treat various diseases, such as giloy or guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) or aromatic/sand ginger (Kaempferia galangal) or rough cocklebur (Xanthium Strumartium). There is also a plant called coral, which is rarely grown

  • Cambodia returns 15M Covid jabs to China

    Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia will return 15 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to China for donation to other countries. The vaccines in question were ordered but had not yet arrived in Cambodia. While presiding over the Ministry of Health’s annual meeting held on

  • Wat Phnom hornbills attract tourists, locals

    Thanks to the arrival of a friendly flock of great hornbills, Hour Rithy, a former aviculturist – or raiser of birds – in Kratie province turned Phnom Penh tuk tuk driver, has seen a partial return to his former profession. He has become something of a guide