Free 2-week visas to Vietnam for Khmers
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In the MC&D - The Cambodian Press Review today they cite Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper as saying from 4th December, Khmers will be able to get free two week visas to Vietnam. The reverse will also apply, with Vietnamese getting free visas to enter Cambodia.
So you can save yourself the $25 fee, and hopefully the hassle of having to get the visa in advance. They weren't clear on whether the visa would be issued at the border or whether you still have to get the visa at the Vietnamese Embassy. When someone finds out, please post the info here.
"Kuy Kuong, undersecretary and spokesman for the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that [this brings] the number of countries offering short-term visa-free visits for Cambodians to five, the others being Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Laos."
BC
Is that ongoing of for a Limited Time Only ?
I gather it's going to be the same as the Malaysia/Philippines/Singapore/Laos visas, and be an ongoing reciprocal visa arrangement to facilitate travel & tourism. Good stuff for those of us with Khmer partners to be aware of. I don't have all the details for those other visas though, so I'm not sure if they're also only two weeks or the more typical 30 day visas.
Cambodia's been talking for a while with Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand about making visas easier, the possibility of getting a single tourist visa happening that would be valid for all of Cambodia, Thailand and Laos (so that "Golden Triangle" tourism can be promoted, for example), and such things. The multicountry tourist visa would certainly make things a lot easier for travellers around here.
On a related note, in case it's relevant to anyone, Cambodia is now issuing passports to its "migrant workers" and waiving all fees except the $24 photograph and production fee. That's significantly cheaper than a usual passport price here. I'm not sure what you need to do to prove that you're a migrant worker, whether you need to have a letter of employment for instance, or what other terms there may be... but if you have friends that are going to be getting a passport, maybe they should make some enquiries about their options...
BC
cambodians travelling to malaysia/singapore/laos don't need a visa beforehand, customs simply stamps the passports when you go through customs ... much like australians travelling to thailand ... the visa free period for malaysia/singapore is longer than 2 weeks also, although from the top of my head, can't remember if it was 1 month or 3 ... i'd have to go check the wife's passport, and post back later ...
and oh yes ... a visa-free period for cambodians going to thailand would be handy ... but the border at poipet seems to indicate little likelihood of that anytime soon ... meh ...