Migration

Cambodians who leave the country for work overseas still often lack effective access to the country’s justice system when they have problems with recruitment agencies, despite some recent improvements, a new report from the International Labour Organization says.​ ...

NGOs in Cambodia and Malaysia are working with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to repatriate six of the 30 Cambodians who sought shelter at the country’s embassy after the Malaysian government started mass arrests of undocumented migrant workers on July 1. ...

The Labour Ministry yesterday released a detailed schedule for illegal migrant workers who remain in Thailand to aid them in gathering legal documentation over the next few months. ...

Cambodia lacks effective mechanisms to protect its citizens working both as legal and undocumented migrants abroad, where such workers also face insufficient protection from the countries that receive them, according to two new reports published last week. ...

Labour Minister Ith Samheng visited migrant workers in Thailand over the weekend, urging them to make use of centres that Thai authorities are opening to provide them with legal documents to remain in the country. ...

The Ministry of Information has sent a letter to radio stations ordering them to immediately cease advertisements from recruitment agencies looking to send migrant workers abroad. ...

NGOs on Wednesday renewed a push for the National Election Committee to let Cambodians working abroad register to vote, as an opposition lawmaker also challenged the committee to back up its claim that current laws would need to be amended to make it happen. ...

Amid crackdowns on undocumented migrants in Malaysia and Thailand, demand for passports among Cambodian migrants has seen large spikes in recent weeks, with many making the costly journey to Phnom Penh to get their paperwork in order. ...

An official at the Cambodian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said on Monday that with more Cambodians seeking support and refuge amid a labor crackdown by Malaysian authorities, the embassy’s budget was not enough to pay to bring them home. ...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs assisted the repatriation of more than 450 Cambodian workers in the first six months of the year, according to figures released Saturday. ...

The Foreign Affairs Ministry says the Malaysian government has taken notice of Thailand’s recent crackdown on illegal foreign workers and begun one of its own, wrangling 79 illegal Cambodian migrant workers in two weeks. ...

The Cambodian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has seen an influx of nationals seeking help securing work documents—along with food and shelter—amid a crackdown on unregistered workers in the country, an embassy official said on Thursday. ...

On a narrow side street on the outskirts of Phnom Penh on Tuesday, cars and tuk-tuks crept slowly along as hordes of pedestrians and motorbikes blocked their paths. Food carts and steady streams of customers lined the road. ...

Minister of Labour Ith Samheng yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with his Japanese counterparts to make it easier for Cambodian trainees to find work in Japan. ...

Cambodian workers on Saturday protested against the closing of unofficial border checkpoints in Banteay Meanchey, while hundreds of undocumented workers continued to return from Thailand through the official checkpoint in Poipet. ...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has officially instructed the Cambodian Embassy in Malaysia to investigate agencies that ask for exorbitant passport renewal fees for workers there, according to a statement released on Friday, though some sources said corruption in the Passport Department itself is part ...

The Thai government has agreed to set up stations across Thailand where Cambodian illegal migrant workers can register for documents that will allow them to stay and work in the country, Labor Minister Ith Sam Heng said at a news conference on Thursday. ...

Cambodian workers continue to fear arrest and deportation amid an ongoing crackdown on undocumented migrant workers in Malaysia, with local media reporting that 2,000 migrants have been arrested since the beginning of the month as of yesterday.   ...

Despite the Thai government’s temporary backtracking on its harsh punishments of undocumented migrant workers, hundreds of Cambodians working in Thailand continued to pour back into their home country yesterday. ...

Hundreds of fearful and confused Cambodian migrant workers—including those with legal documentation—are continuing to flee Thailand, workers said on Tuesday, even as both the Cambodian and Thai governments called for calm among the migrant workforce. ...

The Cambodian government closed all unofficial border checkpoints in Banteay Meanchey and Battambang in an apparent response to Thailand’s laws imposing stricter punishments on migrant workers. ...

Facing a backlash from employers and observers alike, Thailand has backtracked on a new, heavily criticised law that imposes stricter punishments on irregular workers and their employers, though thousands of Cambodians are still being deported. ...

The Cambodian embassy in Bangkok has called on illegal workers not to leave Thailand as officials attempt to negotiate a deal to allow migrants to stay in their jobs.   ...

Immigration police say there has been a spike in the number of Cambodian migrant workers being deported from Thailand following a royal decree on the management of foreign workers.   ...