(Phnom Penh News) According to official documents received by the Cambodia-China Times, from last year to June this year, at least 505 Chinese were granted the royal permission of the King to become Cambodian nationals.

According to documents, they all obtained Cambodian citizenship in the form of investment. Among the 505 Chinese, 37 were from Taiwan, China.

According to documents, a small number of Chinese nationals who have become Cambodian nationals have foreign passports themselves, and some already held U.S. nationality, Canadian nationality, and even have citizenship in the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , the Republic of Vanuatu, and the islands of Antigua and Barbuda.

According to the information held by the Cambodian China Times, of the 505 Chinese who became Cambodian nationals, 88 changed their names after naturalization.

In the past year and a half, in addition to Chinese, 83 foreigners from other countries and regions have joined Cambodian citizenship. They are from the Philippines, India, Spain, Bangladesh, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia, Germany, Canada, Myanmar, South Korea, The United States, Singapore, Iran, Malaysia, France, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.

According to a report from the Ministry of the Interior, from 1999 to the end of 2018, a total of 1,935 foreigners obtained Cambodian citizenship. In the past two years, the number of Chinese naturalizations in Cambodia has increased significantly, equivalent to a quarter of the total number of naturalizations of foreigners in 20 years.

Chinese citizens who are naturalized in Cambodia can enjoy the same benefits as Cambodian citizens. However, according to Chinese law, China does not recognize that Chinese citizens have dual nationality. After they become foreign nationals, they will automatically lose their Chinese nationality and no longer enjoy the rights and obligations of Chinese citizens.

Most of the Chinese who are naturalized Cambodians do this in order to do business in Cambodia more conveniently, especially to purchase land directly as Cambodian citizens. Their investment has made a lot of contributions to the social and economic development of Cambodia.

However, there are also a small number of people who fled to Cambodia after committing crimes and obtained Cambodian nationality through illegal channels. This issue has recently attracted the attention of the Chinese police.
https://cc-times.com/posts/15011

(People who have obtained Cambodian citizenship) are from the Philippines, India, Spain, Bangladesh, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia, Germany, Canada, Myanmar, South Korea, The United States, Singapore, Iran, Malaysia, France, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.

I'm somewhat familiar with China where foreigners don't really get Chinese citizenship, except on rare occasions, so I was surprised that gaining Cambodian citizenship appears so common. Is marriage to a local person the most simple route to obtaining citizenship?

techietraveller84 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 17, 2021 2:20 am

(People who have obtained Cambodian citizenship) are from the Philippines, India, Spain, Bangladesh, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia, Germany, Canada, Myanmar, South Korea, The United States, Singapore, Iran, Malaysia, France, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.

I'm somewhat familiar with China where foreigners don't really get Chinese citizenship, except on rare occasions, so I was surprised that gaining Cambodian citizenship appears so common. Is marriage to a local person the most simple route to obtaining citizenship?

I would not have thought marriage being the easiest way by far. But has the above article states, by the form of investment seems to be the easiest route. But you have to have the money to hand out to the ones that matter.

Very very very rare for a westerner.
That's about all you need to know really.
If you don't already know exactly how the whole thing works, you are a million miles from being a candidate.

NB, a few extraordinarily lucky people get hit by lightning, like that bloke in Kampot who was granted citizenship for being a real estate fool - but you are far more likely to get run over by a Virak Buntham bus than getting hit by that kind of lightning in Cambodia.