Migration

Labour Minister Ith Samheng said yesterday said he plans to increase the number of Cambodian trainees being sent to Japan for study and part-time work, noting that about 6,000 have been working in the country since 2007. ...

Labour officials sent off 14 maids to Hong Kong yesterday in celebration of a pilot program that hopes to funnel up to 1,000 maids to the Asian financial hub despite concerns from rights groups. ...

About 60 Cambodian trainees will be recruited to study and work in Inuyama town in Japan by the Inuyama Chamber of Commerce in Japan, a decision made after the minister of labour met with the chairman of the chamber yesterday. ...

New Thai regulations imposing stiff punishments on undocumented migrants, their brokers and their employers set to come into force on January 1 will likely be delayed by three to six months, according to Cambodian Minister of Labour Ith Sam Heng. ...

The Labour Ministry announced on Friday that the Thai government agreed to extend the deadline for Cambodian officials to complete registration and work permit delivery to Cambodian migrant workers by six months. ...

Nine Cambodians deported from the US arrived yesterday in Phnom Penh, days after a US judge temporarily blocked a flight set to carry more than 50 Cambodian deportees to the Kingdom. ...

The government’s crackdown on illegal immigrants has resulted in more than 2,300 being deported and barred permanently from the kingdom so far this year. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed hopes of sending Cambodians to Japan to work in nursing homes yesterday as part of a larger scheme to increase the number of Cambodian migrant workers. ...

Out of four Southeast Asian countries, migrant workers from Cambodia have the worst experiences, with eight in 10 experiencing labour rights abuses while abroad and more than two-thirds reporting mental or physical health problems upon return, according to a study released by ILO and IOM ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng said yesterday that authorities have failed to quell illegal border crossings by migrant workers. ...

A memorandum of understanding meant to beef up protections for Cambodian maids in Malaysia is still on hold after Malaysia’s human resources minister said he was not aware of the agreement, according to Malaysian media. ...

The process of revoking documents from ethnic Vietnamese people, many of whom have been living in Cambodia for generations, is halfway complete in Kampong Chhnang province, according to the provincial director of immigration. ...

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday appealed to the Cambodian government to “support” her country in handling the refugee crisis that has seen hundreds of thousands of Rohingya pour over its border fleeing violence and persecution in neighbouring Myanmar. ...

Cambodian maids who work in Malaysia will be given smartphones, bank accounts and counselling under a new agreement signed by the two countries yesterday, an employment agency representative said – measures intended to prevent the kind of widespread abuses that resulted in a ban on ...

South Korea wants to host more migrant workers and increase agricultural imports from Cambodia, including mangoes, a meeting between the outgoing ambassador and National Assembly president Heng Samrin revealed yesterday. ...

With cross-border flows of migrant workers rapidly increasing since the founding of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, industry insiders claim that this change has had both positive and negative effects on the Kingdom by reducing the levels of unemployment while highlighting the need ...

The government is negotiating with other countries to ensure the safety of migrant workers and that they receive worker benefits while toiling abroad, Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday. ...

The Khmer Kampuchea Krom for Human Rights and Development Association has announced plans to hold a rally in Siem Reap province to celebrate Human Rights Day next month. ...

The government has relaxed regulations for migrant workers to obtain legal documents in Thailand, in a bid to encourage more workers to legitimise their presence in the country. ...

The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded on Tuesday to reports that Cambodia plans to revoke documents from thousands of ethnic Vietnamese, urging the Kingdom to respect legal rights during the process. ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng yesterday announced he has formed an assessment group – with representation from the ministry’s identification and immigration departments as well as the Ministry of Labour – to study the issues affecting Cambodian migrant workers and provide recommendations to fix them. ...

Cambodian workers in Thailand will be able to collect legal documents to legitimise their presence in the country this week. The Committee for Legalising Cambodian Workers Residing and Working in Thailand will begin issuing both travel documents and Overseas Cambodian Workers Cards under the ongoing 100-day ...

The Ministry of Interior is moving forward with a plan to revoke official documents from 70,000 individuals living in Cambodia, claiming they were “improperly” issued and mistakenly confer citizenship on “immigrants” – many of whom are ethnic Vietnamese born in Cambodia. ...

More than 500 dead Cambodians were repatriated from Thailand in the first six months of 2017, according to an Interior Ministry official. Chou Bun Eng, secretary of state at the ministry, said yesterday the 500 bodies were repatriated through three checkpoints in Banteay Meanchey province. ...