Cambodia hopeful for ‘positive consideration’ in Trump visa ban

In recent days, the administration of US President Donald Trump was reportedly planning to issue new travel restrictions on 43 countries.

The rumoured restrictions will be separated into three colour-coded categories: Red, Orange and Yellow, depending on the severity of the restrictions.

Cambodia is one of 21 nations reportedly on the yellow list, the least restrictive of the three.

Under the “red” category, citizens from 11 countries will be banned from entering the US. They include Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen.

The “Orange” category will see 11 countries facing heavy visa restriction. They include Belarus, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Turkmenistan.

“Yellow“ consists of Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe, as well as the Kingdom.

Nations on the yellow list will reportedly be given 60 days to address the administration’s “concerns”, or risk falling into either of the two more serious categories.

Although no details have been provided about the “concerns” in question, they may refer to the deportation of Cambodian citizens who committed offences in the US.

Chum Sounry, foreign ministry spokesperson, told The Post that the ministry has not received any formal notification regarding the case and is seeking information through diplomatic channels.

He explained that Cambodia has reaffirmed full cooperation with the US to facilitate the repatriation of Cambodian nationals who are subject to removal orders.

“In this spirit, the foreign ministry, the Ministry of Interior and the Cambodian embassy to the US have all been working closely with US authorities. Cambodia has consistently conducted interviews and issued travel documents to speed up the process. At present, we do not see any obstacles that would hinder this process,” he said.

“Given Cambodia’s demonstrated cooperation in this matter and the overall good trajectory of bilateral relations between the two countries, we remain confident that these efforts will be considered in a positive light,” he added.

No figures were available regarding the number of Cambodians who are awaiting deportation. In November 2024, the figure stood at 1,747, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Niem Chheng

The Phnom Penh Post

Asia News Network