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Cambodia: Kingdom of Wonder recommended for low costs for expat retirees
Cambodia is recommended for its low living costs, stunning scenery and fascinating history – ideal for expat retirees.
The claim in a recent report by emigrate.co.uk.
One important aspect in Cambodia’s favour, it said, is that visas are still comparatively easy to get for retirees as well as entrepreneurs and digital nomads.
It suggests that elderly foreigners should ask for an E-class visa upon arrival, supplying just six months’ validation, with at least one blank page. A passport-sized photo is required, but can be taken at the airport on arrival.
The visa nominally lasts for 30 days and the charge is just $3 but for retirees over the age of 55, an extension can be acquired on presentation of a valid retirement document and proof of funds. The visa runs for one, three, six or a full 12 months and the longer visas allow for multiple entries.
The one-year visa can easily be renewed annually via a retirees’ local estate agent, although proof of enough funds for a year’s stay must be given. It also gives permission to live anywhere in the country as well as leaving and returning as many times as is required.
Regarding the cost of living, it’s far cheaper than in any Western country. For instance, a one-bedroom condominium apartment in a Cambodian city costs around $400 a month rent. Taxes are also far cheaper than in the West.
In the publication’s Annual Global Retirement Index of International Living, a magazine that focuses on the best places to live and invest, it named Cambodia as the cheapest place to retire in 2019.
Earning full marks in the category, the ranking highlights the Kingdom’s attractiveness for retirees and expatriates in general.
The government is drafting a second home policy, which was initiated since 2016, in a move to attract tourist destinations for foreign retirees.
The second-home policy aims to create a new tourism product that will make tourists regular visitors to the Kingdom by ensuring they have legal ownership rights to their second homes that, according to the government, will allow them to own 70 percent of a home. Under current law, foreigners can own 100 percent of a flat or condo as long as it is not on the ground floor.
Top Sopheak, a tourism ministry spokesperson, told Khmer Times yesterday that the Ministry is preparing a second-home policy, but the draft is being processed and it is yet to be finalised.
“The policy has not been officially launched. We are preparing and making some corrections to ensure that it will suit the current situation and to be accordance with 2030’s tourism strategy attraction.
Ho Vandy, secretary-general of the National Tourism Alliance, said similar policies had been successful in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. The policy has drawn investor-tourists, families and retirees elsewhere.
“If we can attract these three types of tourists the tourism industry will be more prosperous,” he said, adding this will help protect investors and people in the surrounding areas, while the government will earn more tax.
“Most second homes in other countries are built near the sea and in quiet places because tourists visit to relax in a good environment,” he noted.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50733879/kingdom-of-wonder-recommended-for-low-costs-for-expat-retirees/