So, want to start a discussion about work permits,
would starting up a business of any kind require a work permit or is it just for certain businesses
are there different types of work permits?
what are the basic laws around the work permits?
its something im not totally clued up about really...

Procedures for Work Permit and Employment Card Application for Foreign Worker
http://mlvt.gov.kh/upload/docs/introduc ... nglish.pdf

Flow of Procedures for Work Permit and Employment Card Application for Foreign Worker
http://mlvt.gov.kh/upload/docs/flow%20o ... kh_eng.pdf

Application Form for The New of Foreigner Work Permit
http://mlvt.gov.kh/upload/docs/Applycat ... permit.pdf


Not sure that any of that answers the question of self employment though. At least you'll have something to read.

Stroppy Chops may have the answer.

Yes, self-employed business owners need work permits. Take your business registration certificate to Lucky Lucky.

is lucky lucky in sihanoukville?
im sure i saw someone mention something about that place as its where they get their driving licence done?

monivong road in PP
and yes
or rent /buy bikes

Yes, Lucky Lucky is a bike hire / visa, permit, license fixer on Monivong in PP. Good English, nothing ever seems to be a problem.

ahh yeah knew i saw someone mention it before,
so any kind of business that receives an income needs to be registered with a permit?
and also, if you was to start some kind of internet business would this also need to be registered?
got a few plans lined up for when i'm back in the kingdom so trying to map everything out before i go
how much do the permits usually cost? and do you re new them every year or?
thanks for the help guys

The principle is that if you're here on anything other than a tourist visa, you need a work permit - which costs $100pa plus any fixer fee.

NGOs will argue this doesn't apply to them, teachers argue their school is supposed to make it happen, and long-termers say it shouldn't be retrospective. At least some of these will end up disappointed IMO.

Can't comment on whether you need to register an internet business, probably not but you'll still need the WP if you intend to live in the kingdom for more than 12 months (cumulative).

Costs of registering a business vary wildly between business types, which departments you have to deal with, and how much of a hurry you are in. Normal process can take up to three years, we paid a little extra and got it done in around 4 months for around $3k.

You won't easily complete this process without a fluent and confident fixer, and without paying some form of service fee.

Oddly, the Tax Office can be the greatest obstacle, possibly because the fees and formulas are published and well known.

i dont think what im planning would require too much hassle ill drop you an inbox and see what you think..
i also have a khmer friend that ive know a long while that has got friends in the government and said he'd be able to help out if i ever wanted to set anything up, and was encouraging me that to look into setting up a business so i could stay longer, not 100% sure what the benefits would be but it might be a foot in if i needed it

Jamie_Lambo wrote:...would starting up a business of any kind require a work permit or is it just for certain businesses
are there different types of work permits? ... what are the basic laws around the work permits?

The internet is certainly a strong force of change in that domain. The core question about regulations is always: enforceability. In other words, if the state is incapable of enforcing particular regulations, such regulations simply do not count. In comparison to that, all other questions are moot.

For example, Google and Facebook clearly recruit advertisers in Cambodia and charge advertisement fees. In that sense, they do operate here. They never requested any license, they have no office here, no staff, no work permits, pay no taxes, or anything at all. They pretty much ignore any of that. If you check on their website, airbnb.com has an entire population of property owners and tenants in Cambodia. Same situation. Regulations do not apply, simply because the state would not be capable of enforcing them anyway.

If enforcement is sufficiently credible, people will usually choose to abide by such regulations. If it is obvious that they will catch you someday, breaking the rules, you could as well pony up right away.

If the regulations are easily circumvented, however, people will probably not abide by them. This is also pretty much what the Cambodians themselves think about regulations. Cambodia is a country where everybody circumvents the regulations all the time, if need be, by bribing someone.

At the same time, the internet is a strong force that consistently erodes the ability of governments to enforce regulations. As John Gilmore famously quipped: The internet treats censorship as a defect and routes around it. Regulations always take the form of censorship on the internet. Requiring business licenses may actually be an outdated practice, because on the internet it would translate into threatening to shut down someone's e-commerce site in absence of one. That threat has no credibility at all, as we can see that the notorious Pirate Bay website -- how many times did they try to shut it down? -- is still operating today.