As region cracks down on migrants, agencies provide costly, illegal service

A passport to corruption?

AMID crackdowns on undocumented migrants in Malaysia and Thailand, demand for passports among Cambodian migrants has seen large spikes in recent weeks, with many making the costly journey to Phnom Penh to get their paperwork in order.

However, several Cambodiabased travel agencies told The Post that they could, defying official policies, make passports for Cambodian citizens abroad – if the citizens had the wherewithal to pay around $600, or six times the official amount.

Though the agents stopped short of using the word “bribe” to describe their payments to Passport Department officials, by taking advantage of the “unofficial process”, the agencies fill in for a service that advocates say should be readily available at Cambodian embassies overseas – with one official insisting that it technically is, for workers and students.

But apparent confusion over that policy, along with what some have characterised as a lack of political will, leaves often low-paid migrant workers in the unenviable position of having to choose between paying to return home, or paying exorbi- tant fees from abroad to obtain the essential documents.

One travel agency employee, speaking on conditions of anonymity, said that while her agency took $115 to $235 to facilitate normal and express passports, respectively, for CONTINUED

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