"Some jobs off limits to foreigners from August", 17 July 2019

Beginning from the second week of August, foreigners will be banned from driving taxis and tuk-tuks, as well as being motorcycle delivery drivers, street food vendors, hairdressers and product distributors among other lower-income jobs…

The move serves to protect the local employment market, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training announced on Tuesday, saying most of the jobs non-Cambodians will be prohibited from doing are based in the informal economy.

Ministry spokesman Heng Sour told … that the decision will protect small enterprises and family-owned businesses.

“We are protecting small and family-run enterprises and employment in certain areas. At this juncture, Cambodia has to identify some jobs that foreigners are not allowed to do,” Sour said, adding that other countries have similar laws…

Legal expert Sok Sam Oeun told … that banning foreigners from certain employment was a positive move as more, particularly Chinese nationals, were moving to Cambodia and taking jobs from the locals.

He said loopholes in the law prohibiting foreigners from taking certain jobs had allowed them to open any business they wished…

According to the Labour Law and recent prakas on foreign workers, only 10 per cent of the workforce of Cambodian enterprises, including factories, can be foreign, with these usually employed in specialist roles…