PM Hun Sen outlines process to gain diplomatic passports
PRIME Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday issued a sub-decree to clarif y the eligibilit y for diplomatic passports and granted the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation the power to issue the passport.
Those who are eligible for the passport are t he roya l fa mily, prime minister, deput y prime ministers, ministers, senior government of ficia ls ; president, v ice-president, and senior members of the Senate and National Assembly; president and senior members of t he Constitutiona l Council; National Bank of Cambodia chairman; Supreme Court president and General Prosecutor of the Supreme Court; General Commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF); National Police chief; adv iser to t he King, and a ll dignitaries holding the ‘Samdech’ honourific.
The Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia in both sects, top monks holding the Samdech honourific, and monks ranking from deputy head in each province are also eligible for the passport.
The passports will also be issued to government officials on abroad.
“The validit y of a diplomatic passport is no more than five years and is nonrenewable. Diplomatic passport holders whose mission is completed, titles expired, job foreign missions terminated, retired, or suspended, and those on leave without pay for longer than six months are not entitled to use the passport,” the subdecree said.
“Some countries in Asean do not require a visa for those holding this type of passport for the duration of one month,” said ministr y spokesperson Koy Kuong.
The sub-decree said the ministr y has the power to revoke all passports that are not used correctly.