Background
The General Department of Immigration (GDI) oversees immigration control at Cambodia’s air, land, and sea entry points and enforces residency and work-stay requirements for foreign nationals. Cambodia’s immigration authorities coordinate with diplomatic missions to repatriate foreign nationals involved in criminal activity or irregular employment.
On 24 June 2026 the GDI reported that, following guidance from senior Ministry of Interior leadership and coordination with the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh, it expelled 173 Chinese nationals for involvement in online scams and for illegal stay or employment. The deportations were executed by a special repatriation flight processed at the airport police checkpoint of Techo International Airport.
Key Developments
GDI public communications state the group included 173 people, of whom two were female. The action combined immigration removal procedures with diplomatic coordination and used a special aircraft to return the foreign nationals to the sending country.
Institutional Role
The operation was presented by GDI as part of a broader enforcement and victim-assistance effort led by the Ministry of Interior. GDI described measures to identify persons allegedly involved in technology-enabled fraud and to facilitate the safe repatriation of those persons and any victims freed during investigations.
Operational Implications
The case highlights use of airport police checkpoints and special repatriation flights as operational tools in large-scale removals. Coordination between immigration authorities and foreign diplomatic missions enabled direct return by air without prolonged detention in Cambodia.
Official Source
Source: General Department of Immigration (GDI) social post: GDI Facebook. Additional GDI channels: TikTok, Telegram, Facebook, www.immigration.gov.kh.
