Over 400,000 Cambodians Come Home for the New Year
Cambodians living in Thailand came to Cambodia to celebrate the Khmer New Year in 2023. Photo: Cambodian Immigration Department.
- By Chhum Chantha
- and Meng Seavmey
- April 15, 2024 2:10 PM
PHNOM PENH – From April 1 to 14, 412,337 Cambodians living overseas came to Cambodia to celebrate the Khmer New Year, according to the latest data released on April 14 by the Ministry of Interior’s Cambodian Immigration Department.
Of these, 125,136 are migrant workers, mostly living in Thailand.
To ease border crossing processes, Thailand has decided to no longer charge Cambodian workers the usual 1000-bath fee (about $27.5) to re-enter the country after spending some time in Cambodia. The policy is in force from April 1 to May 15.
Under the agreement signed with Cambodia, Thai authorities will issue a special pass to identify the Cambodian people who cross the border.
The immigration department ordered border authorities not to stamp migrant workers’ passports to speed up the crossing process, as the border tends to be overcrowded at that time of the year.
Instead, people’s identities will be entered into the immigration system, to make it easier for immigration authorities to find them back when they’ll cross the border again.
The department also called on authorities along the border to facilitate people’s travels during the Khmer New Year and when they return to Thailand.
