Residency monitoring directive given to commune-level police
GENERAL Department of Identification director-general Kang Sokhorn issued an eight-page directive on Wednesday to all commune police to inform the public about the formality and procedure in registering and controlling residency.
The procedure covers the permanent residence book, family book, relocation, and temporary residence. The directive is intended to safeguard peace, safety, public order and social and economic development, Sokhorn said.
He said the permanent residence book is used by the police to record the number of people staying at a single or collective residence. The permanent residence book records all foreigners legally living in Cambodia.
The commune police will issue the book at the request of a household head or representative. The request must attach birth certificates, marriage certificate and other documents requested. Immigrants must show certificates issued by the Ministry of Interior. The book must be issued within 10 days of application.
The family book, which records Cambodian citizens only, must be issued within 15 days after an application is submitted. Any removal or adding of a member from or to the permanent residence book or family book must be requested to the commune police with clear reference documents, Sokhorn said.
For relocation, he said the head of the family must request a change of location to commune police attached with a permanent residence book. The requesting families then receive a letter from the commune police to register as a resident at a new location.
Sokhorn told commune police to regularly update the number of migrations and returns of Cambodians. All Cambodians who migrated must not be removed from their permanent residence book until it is confirmed they that they will not return or they already died.
Cambodians and immigrants who move to other places for less than six months must also register in what is called a temporal residence book issued by commune police at their new location, he said.
“A head of the family or representative has to inform commune police in 30 days when there is a birth, death, or relocation. In case a family member has disappeared, the family has to report it to the police within no more than three days,” Sokhorn said.
Lam Socheat, the director of the Advocacy and Policy Institute (API) said on Thursday that he saw many positives in the directive. It will help prevent crimes such as drug trafficking and counterfeiting and identify those who should receive government support.
“A clear statistic and the connection between the citizen and the State are important and intertwine. It can help poor people received benefits from the State. It also makes it easy for the State to plan responses for people’s needs.
“But the government should not use this to restrict freedom. During the Pol Pot regime, they said we had to ask permission before going somewhere. It affects people’s rights in a democratic society. But something like this is not happening any longer,” Socheat said.