Permit penalty: New fine in works for workers #Foreigners

Starting on April 1, the government will charge $5 a day for every day that a staff member of a company in Cambodia is without a work permit, according to a senior immigration official.

“After the census campaign, we will implement the procedures of fine for immigrants who stay beyond the visa, who do not have a work permit, and who do not have a passport,” Ouk Hay Seila, head of investigations and procedure at the General Department of Immigration, said yesterday, referring to a census that started last year and is in the process of wrapping up. “Starting from the 1st of April, [for] one day we fine $5.”

The census is part of an overall tightening of labour laws that were loosely enforced in the past.

For those seeking permits now, the government has been charging back fines of about $80 for every year worked in Cambodia without correct documentation.

It’s unclear if the $5 fine will replace the backdated fee.

The government has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial penalties since the census began in August.