SA KAEO, June 23 — More Cambodian workers are expected to return to work in Thailand after the Cambodian government sharply reduced passport feee to US$4 from between US$135-250, according to a senior immigration police officer.
Pol Col Benjapol Rodsawas, deputy chief of Sa Kaeo immigration police, said the reduced passport issuance fee for Cambodians is considered “positive” as it would help poor Cambodians to apply for passports and it could also eliminate illegal Cambodian workers entering Thailand.
He said the Thai authorities would have to monitor how the Cambodian government issues passports to its people and how they then enter Thailand and work here as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) is trying to legalise migrant workers in this country.
More than 100,000 Cambodian and Vietnamese migrant workers have left Thailand for their countries in the past few weeks due to rumours that the NCPO would punish migrants who are working in Thailand illegally.
Pol Col Benjapol said he was told by Cambodian officials that Cambodians who apply for jobs through legal manpower agencies would be entitled to enjoy the current passport fee charges.
