Background
The General Department of Immigration (GDI) is the operational arm of Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior responsible for implementing immigration control, registration, and status-determination procedures for foreign nationals and related dependents. Prakas No. 12644 prescribes procedures for including children born to foreign migrants in the household dependent register and for applications by children aged 18 or older to be recognised as foreign migrants.
On 26 May 2026, GDI led a dissemination event at Wat Pothiram in Kampong Hluong commune, Ponhea Leu district, Kandal province to publicise Prakas No. 12644 and explain its administrative steps to provincial and district officers and community representatives. The event listed participation by provincial immigration office staff, district police post officers, local commune associations, and 212 foreign migrants from four communes.
Scope of Application
Prakas No. 12644 applies to the administrative procedures for children born to foreign migrants and to individuals aged 18 or older who seek formal recognition of foreign-migrant status under the Ministry of Interior’s immigration framework. Implementation responsibility is assigned to the General Department of Immigration and its provincial and district offices for registration and status processing within Cambodia’s civil-administrative registration systems.
Key Provisions or Decisions
The Prakas establishes procedural steps for entering dependent children of foreign migrants into the household dependent register and for handling recognition requests from adult children of foreign migrants. It clarifies roles for provincial immigration offices and district-level officers in receiving applications, verifying eligibility, and updating administrative registers.
Implications for Investors, Businesses, or Compliance
Organisations and service providers that interact with foreign migrant households should coordinate with provincial immigration offices when their workforce or beneficiaries include children of foreign migrants who require registration or status recognition. Compliance actions will be administrative and procedural, requiring entities to follow the steps and verifications set out by the General Department of Immigration rather than new fiscal or investment obligations.
Official Source
Source: General Department of Immigration (GDI) social media announcement on 26 May 2026. Original post: GDI Facebook. GDI official website: immigration.gov.kh.
