As region cracks down on migrants, agencies provide costly, illegal passport service

[geovalin]

Leonie Kijewski

 

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.

 

However, several Cambodia-based travel agencies told The Post that they could, defying official policies, make passports for Cambodian citizens abroad – if the citizens had the wherewithal to pay around $600, or six times the official amount.

 

Though the agents stopped short of using the word “bribe” to describe their payments to Passport Department officials, by taking advantage of the “unofficial process”, the agencies fill in for a service that advocates say should be readily available at Cambodian embassies overseas – with one official insisting that it technically is, for workers and students.

 

read more http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national

 

 

-- © Copyright Phenom Pen Post 19/07

[alant]

shocked I am

[jippytum]

The requirements for Cambodian workers to work legally in Thailand are not too difficult or expensive if done legally .This black market is the result of immigrant workers not having  the correct paperwork and a change to tighten the immigration laws resulted in a mass exodus. How about  Thai contractors and builders who benefit from cheap labor helping with the problem  as they where responsible for hiring illegals and have profited from doing so.

Edited July 19, 2017 by jippytum
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