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Restrictions on Cambodians Marrying Foreign Nationals over 50
See transcript of the above video below:
Here recently in the past few weeks we've been getting inquiries from folks that are requesting information about marriage or visa or visa options for Cambodian Nationals and while Thailand borders Cambodia and we do handle some of those cases I haven't really done a lot of videos specifically discussing Cambodia and I felt it maybe it was probably an opportune time to go ahead and do some videos to provide some insight for those who are looking to become engaged to or get married to a Cambodian National.
As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing specifically the issue of marriage, specifically within the context of those who are looking to marry someone who is a foreign national and by foreign I mean a non-Cambodian who is over the age of 50.
It is my understanding, and this is only through anecdotal evidence that I've gotten having gone to Cambodia asked around from various sources about this issue, it is my understanding that at one point in years past there was not this restriction regarding those over the age of 50 but as a result of certain for lack of a better term "mail-order bride" situations or situations where folks were getting married by correspondence, there were some negative impacts happening to Cambodian nationals, specifically Cambodian females, who were marrying much older men abroad and it's my understanding, again this is all anecdotal, but it's my understanding that they were becoming the victims of abuse and as a result of this, the Cambodian Government just made sort of a blanket rule regarding marriage to those over the age of 50 to basically illegalize it for lack of a better term.
It is my understanding that there may be certain exceptions given certain circumstances to this restriction but as a practical matter for Americans wishing to eventually marry a Cambodian or get married in Cambodia, this can prove problematic; again only for those over the age of 50. This can also prove problematic in third-party jurisdictions, for example Thailand, because in certain jurisdictions especially other civil law jurisdictions, it is required that one of the parties, in this case the Cambodian party seeking marriage, to get an Affidavit of Single status in order to be able to marry for example here in the Kingdom and it's my understanding the Cambodian Authorities can make it rather difficult for those who are presumed to be marrying an over 50 year old to get that Affidavit of Single status as they don't have the freedom to marry somebody over 50 within the jurisdiction of Cambodia.
So the thing to take away from this video, there are restrictions, or I should say there are heavy restrictions, that are placed on couples where one of the parties is over 50, specifically to foreign parties over 50. This isn't an age difference issue. It doesn't matter if one party is 49 and one party is 50. It is the foreigner being 50 that is the operative issue at play in this kind of situation.
That being said, it may be possible depending on circumstances to use a third country jurisdiction to go ahead and get married but whatever the issue specifically arising in a given case, it is probably a good idea to contact legal professional in order to get some information about how best to process both possibly a marriage to a Cambodian National or specifically specific immigration options especially for those who are looking to take their fiancée or spouse to the United States of America.