The Cambodian government is working with other governments to waive overstay fines, but only on a case-by-case basis, which aid workers say is excruciatingly slow.
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At 6:20 · chapter starts 4:38
Days later, Shoaib's boss finally got back to him: buy a ticket for February 10th — exactly a year to the day since Shoaib had arrived in Cambodia. So Shoaib booked his third ticket, spending the last of his money. At the airport, everything seemed to be going smoothly until immigration scanned his passport and immediately flagged the 11-month overstay. Shoaib called his boss. The call wouldn't connect — he'd been blocked. Officials told him he owed $3,500, charged at $10 per day for every day his visa had been expired. With no money to pay and no boss to rescue him, Shoaib was told: pay or go back. He was handed his passport and sent out of the airport. Aid workers and human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have since criticised the Cambodian government for enforcing these fines against trafficking victims. The government continues to waive fines on a case-by-case basis — a process Shibani Mahtani describes as excruciatingly slow.
Cambodian immigration flagged Shoaib's passport for an 11-month overstay and demanded $3,500 on the spot. His boss had promised to handle it — then blocked his number. Shoaib, a trafficking victim, was told to pay or go back with nowhere to go.
Shoaib owed $3,500 in overstay fines — $10 per day for 11 months — as the primary obstacle blocking his departure from Cambodia.
Cambodia charges $10 per day for every day a foreigner overstays their visa, creating an insurmountable barrier for trafficked migrants trying to leave.
Shoaib had to purchase four separate plane tickets during his attempts to leave Cambodia, exhausting nearly all of his savings.
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