As soon as this week Cambodia is expected to
join the small group of Southeast Asian countries tapping in to the rapidly
expanding global retiree market with the introduction of a Cambodia retirement
visa. This will see it competing with Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines
which are already well established and popular retirement destinations.
As retirees globally seek to relocate to
areas with more affordable costs of living to stretch their often meager
retirement savings Cambodia hopes to draw from the world’s increasingly aged
societies with its comparatively inexpensive housing, low day-to-day living
expenses, and at least with regards to the ability to stay long-term, its
stress-free bureaucracy.
Details of what restrictions and requirements
will be placed on/ needed for the Cambodia retirement visa have not been
officially announced yet while Cambodia foreign missions are still being
provided with details. Original plans were for it to come into effect on August
1. However, Sok Veasna, a department director at the Interior Ministry’s
general department of immigration said proof of financial stability will be one
requirement, along with proof of having retired in their home country.
Unlike the current E-class, or Cambodia
ordinary visa, which can be extended for up to 12-months and which enables
foreigners to work in the kingdom, the Cambodia retirement visa (officially
designated as the Cambodia ER visa) will not allow employment. Multiple entries
and exits from the country will be permitted, similar to the E-class visa,
though ownership of houses and/ or land will not be allowed.
Asean
Retirement Visas
In neighbouring Thailand a retirement visa
(Non Immigrant Visa O-ANon Immigrant Visa O-A) requires a seasoned bank deposit
of Bt800,000 (US$22,900) or a deposit and verifiable monthly income equivalent
to Bt800,000. In addition a Thailand retirement visa requires a criminal
clearance, a health check, and necessitates a report to the immigration
department every 90-days.
For the popular Malaysia, My Second Home
(MM2H) programme which offers a ten-year visa, applicants must for the first
year open a fixed deposit account of RM150,000.00 ($37,059) or show proof of a
monthly off-shore government pension of at least RM10,000.00 ($2,470). For the
second and subsequent years the minimum fixed term deposit is permitted to drop
to RM100,000 ($24,706. Similarly to Thailand a medical clearance is required
and applicants must have medical insurance for the duration of their stay in
Malaysia.
However, unlike Thailand, MM2H participants
are permitted to buy houses, provided the minimum purchase price is RM1 million
or above ($247,000). While those aged over 40 are permitted to work part-time,
full time employment is prohibited.
Across the South China Sea the Philippines’
Special Resident Retiree’s Visa (SRRV) requires those aged 50 and above to have
a bank deposit of $10,000.00 plus a monthly pension of $800.00 for a single
applicant and $1,000 for a couple.
This allows an applicant and their spouse to
settle in the Philippines, or the applicant and one dependent child aged under
21. Additional children can be included by payment of additional fees.
Applicants must pass a medical test at an approved facility and provide a
police clearance from their home law enforcement agency.
Philippines’ Special Resident Retiree’s Visa
holders are exempted from paying travel tax provided they have not stayed in
the Philippines for more than one year and, similarly to the other three
countries cannot own land.
Cambodia’s
Healthcare Sector
One potential drawback for Cambodia in
attracting large numbers of aged retirees though is the poor state of the country’s
roads and medical facilities. Last year Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen kicked
off a storm of controversy when he flew to Singapore for an annual medical
checkup.
The gold standard in global health care is
accreditation by the Joint Commission International (JCI), the oldest and
largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care in the United
States. According to the JCI website: ‘No other health care accreditor has as
many sets of standards approved and endorsed by the International Society for
Quality in Health Care (ISQua).’
In Cambodia’s case the country lacks a single
JCI accredited hospital or clinic, compared to more than 50 in Thailand, 13 in
Malaysia, and five in the Philippines.
While those requiring urgent transport to
hospital have to battle through Bangkok’s horrendous and often unyielding
traffic – the problem is so bad Krungsri Bank have created a public awareness
campaign in the form of an informercial as part of its corporate social
responsibility programme – medical care when you get to most Thailand hospitals
in major centers is generally quite competent at a minimum.
In Cambodia this is not always the case,
while Khmer drivers have an equally ambivallent attitude to emergency vehicles
attempting to force their way through its chaotic traffic. And while there is
an air ambulance service available in Cambodia, it is operated by a single
fix-wing aircraft, is based in Pnom Penh and requires a minimum 30 minutes
notice to get airborne.
Land Ownership
for Aged care Sector
One potential solution is for the government
to encourage the development of fully independent aged care facilities, for
independent, assisted- and full-care residents.
In February a draft policy paper prepared by
the Cambodia Ministry of Tourism called for policies that would enable the
development of “special residences” throughout the country. The proposal
envisages commercial tourist properties and a range of complementary
facilities.
“Special tourists” would have the right to
buy, rent or sell property in these residences, and also be entitled to
longer-term and more flexible visas. Enabling land ownership in these special
‘zones’ is seen as key to attracting the size foreign investment centres
catering for the aged would need to invest.
In January Cambodia was ranked 21 out of 23
countries as the world’s best retirement havens by International Living’s 2016
Global Retirement Index, which tagged it as the ‘cheapest place in the world to
retire’.
The same survey saw Malaysia tie with
Columbia as the tops for affordable healthcare and with Panama as a “food
haven”, as well as ranked as the overall fifth best place to retire in 2016
ahead of Thailand at number seven, the Philippines at 17, and Vietnam at 23.
In January the BBCs Capitol programme ranked
Malaysia as the third best location globally to retire and Thailand as number
seven.
For whatever reason though the popularity of
the MM2H programme has seen a dramatic drop over the last few years. From 3,675
approvals in 2013 approved applications last year plummeted by almost 40 per
cent to just 2,211. As of April 2016, only 424 participants had been approved.
Despite this Malaysia is said to be the
largest destination for Japanese retirees outside of Japan with some 3,872 MM2H
visas having been issued to Japanese nationals since the MM2H programme began
in 2002.
In May realestate.com.kh, one of the prime
sources of real estate news and data in Cambodia reported growing interest in
the country as a destination for China’s high-net-worth individuals.
In a January 2015 report specialty Chinese
property website Juwai.com noted that ‘more and more Chinese are venturing to
park their cash in property overseas… but where next’. Quoting data from the National
Association of Realtors the publication said Chinese buyers spent $22 billion
on American property last year, almost a 72 per cent increase over 2013.
While noting that Cambodia may not yet be a
‘popular emigration or education destination for most wealthy Chinese,
realestate.com.kh said those seeking pure investment opportunities are offered
a unique proposition in the rising market of Phnom Penh’.
Coinciding with news of the new Cambodia
retirement visa were plans unveiled by the country’s tourism ministry to
attempt to lure more elderly tourists. Only 4 per cent of the 4.8 million
tourists who visited Cambodia last year were aged 65 or more according to the
tourism ministry, something it is keen to improve on.
In an interview with The Phnom Penh Post
Chhay Khunlong, deputy director-general for tourism was quoted as saying” “The
number of senior tourists will increase in the future, so we need to give more
attention to create tourism products and services that reflect [this].” Elderly
visitors need to be provided with better access to health care services and
easier access to extended visas, he was reported as saying.
With both Malaysia and Thailand well
established as Asean centres for medical tourism and desirable retirement
locations Cambodia is likely to have its work cut out in attracting significant
numbers of health assurance concerned retirees without significant improvements
and investment in both healthcare and infrastructure.
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