On April 8, 2020, Cambodia’s Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (MLVT) issued an instruction to its staff not to impose any late penalties on non-Cambodian workers who want to renew their 2019 foreign work permits, but have failed to meet the initial renewal deadline, effective until further notice. The MLVT states that the instruction is intended to assist non-Cambodian workers that may not have been able to return to Cambodia to continue their work due to the global COVID-19 situation.

The timeframe for renewing work permits for non-Cambodian workers is usually between January 1 to March 31 each year. Any late renewal applications are subject to fines unless the MLVT formally announces an extension of the deadline.

The instruction does not indicate any specific date by which this penalty exemption will expire, and the MLVT will update the expiration date in due course. Therefore, we recommend that non-Cambodian workers who have not yet renewed their foreign work permits take advantage of this penalty-free late submission period as soon as possible.