The Poipet International Border Checkpoint between Thailand and Cambodia is so busy ahead of the Songkran – or the Southeast Asian New Year – that Thai authorities have needed to open a second checkpoint nearby to ease congestion.
Like Thailand, Cambodia is celebrating the Buddhist New Year this weekend. In Secrets , the holiday is known as “Moha Sangkranta” and shall be celebrated from Friday 14-15 this yr.
Thousands of Cambodian migrant staff who wish to return home for the vacations are applying for re-entry permits on the Thai facet of the border, to enable them to return to Thailand after the festivities are over, reports the Khmer Times.
Chief of Immigration on the Khmer aspect, Brigadier General E Chamroeun, said that the Thais have informed him that the congestion is as a outcome of the Thai immigration officers solely have one scanner at the Poipet checkpoint to course of and issue re-entry permits.
Cambodian migrant workers have been lining up for re-entry permits since Monday, added the chief.
To pace up the queues, the Thai authorities are sending migrants to a second location outfitted with a scanner within the Aranyaphrathet district of Sa Kaeo province.
Once their documents have been checked and a re-entry allow has been issued, officers are taking the migrants again to the Poipet checkpoint for immigration to examine their passports and permit them to enter Cambodia to have fun the new year.
Cambodian authorities are offering food packages and water for migrants upon arrival in Poipet after they have waited for hours within the sweltering summer time warmth, said the chief.
Meanwhile, Battambang Provincial Governor Sok Lou said the Thai-Khmer checkpoint in Battambang, which also crosses into Thailand’s Sa Keao province, is not dealing with delays and is working as traditional.
Just a 3.5 hour drive away from Bangkok, the Poipet checkpoint is a well-liked visa-run location for tourists trying to buy some extra time in Thailand by exiting and reentering the nation.
Beyond the immigration workplace on the Khmer aspect lies an otherwise unspectacular-looking city municipality that transforms into a glittering, neon-lit gamblers’ Disneyland after darkish.
In Cambodia, playing is in opposition to the law for Cambodian nationals however not for foreigners. Therefore, a dozen casinos have been inbuilt Poipet – specifically for the Thai market – for Thai prospects (and other non-Cambodian gamblers) who cross over the border to gamble legally, since most types of playing are illegal in Thailand..