My first port of call would be the security guy on the gate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I've sourced various strange embassy requested documents from there. They're quite entrepreneurial and even offer a drive through service!

I recently had the pleasure of going through this process.

You need to obtain a certificate of residency from your Sangkat Chief at your local Sangkat office. If you want to get an example of what the certificate looks like go to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) office and they will give you a photocopy of someone else's!

The certificate of residency takes a half day and the cost is 'negotiable'. I paid 30 000 riel. The documents you need for this are passport and copies of the passport front page and visa and lease agreement as proof of where you live. You'll also need two passport photos. I also provided copy of birth certificate but not sure that is necessarily required.

Once you have your certificate from the Sangkat office you head to the Ministry of Justice for the criminal record check. The MOJ is in front of the Royal Palace and the office you need is on the river side of the building. The required forms must be filled out in Khmer and include details about your employment, spouse, parents, children etc. Documents you need for this stage are passport and copies of front page, current visa and the visa you obtained when you entered Cambodia for the first time, certificate from Sangkat Chief. Again you'll need two passport photos.

The cost of the criminal record check is a staggering 250 000 riel ($62.50) if you are happy with a processing time of 20 working days. If you want the check done in 12 working days it will cost you 500 000 riel. I had trouble believing it cost this much and thought that it must also be a 'negotiable' fee, but a colleague checked it out and there is an official decree that these are the costs for foreigners to get criminal record checks.

Good luck and you'll need a good sense of humour through the process

Yeah, I've done this too and the fees stated above by Tonya for the police check are the official ones. Or at least, they're non negotiable.

For Khmers to get this check, they will need to provide all their official documents, I think, including family book, birth certificate, ID card, etc.

Oh and when you get the police check back, you should get several copies, as well as several copies of an officially stamped translation into English. That partly explains the cost. Ask them for these just in case it's not standard to provide them, and of course let them know if you need them in French instead of English. You may want to provide them with the "western" transcription of names so that their translation comes out matching your other documents. Some embassies can be fussy about that.

Another point to note: you get your check from the MOJ if you are living in Phnom Penh. If you are not, you need to go to the provincial capital for your province of residence. Or so I was told. We live in Phnom Penh so we didn't need to follow up on that...

BC

Well this is turning into a right palaver. If you want the clearance form to cover your entire time of residence, you need a certificate of residency from each Sangkat you have resided in. In my case, this involves quite a number of Sangkats and several passports. Arrrrgh !

Also MoJ is insisting that the residency certificate match the visa issue date. Bleeding bureaucracy !

Hang on, I had assumed your wife was Khmer? In which case there should be no passport/visa related issues. Or do you mean you also need a police clearance for yourself?

When we got this done for my wife recently, we didn't need a full residential history for her, just current residency certificate from the current sangkat. I don't recall there being any place on the police certificate application for the MOJ that included residential history for her.

Maybe the form has changed? Or maybe they're just giving you the run around, as if it looks difficult you might need... assistance...

Residency certificate should only match the visa issue date if you turned up and started living at that place on your date of arrival. It should instead match the date on your lease. MOJ bureaucrats may of course have their own ideas about which dates should match.

Are you taking a convincing Khmer negotiator with you when you go to the MOJ?

BC

Thanks for posting your experiences of this process. I gather that there is no way I can obtain a police clearance check from within the UK?

The police clearance is just for me but I can't see how I can get this done as I'm in the UK. Trouble is, I can't satisfy UK CRB requirements without it.

Try this place:

http://www.yellowpages-cambodia.com/listings/kh30599

I used them with (eventual) success.

Cheers

Hi,
I'will need to get police clearance soon from Cambodia...but I have lived in many places, including 3-4 Sangkat in Phnom Penh and one in Kampong Cham province (my current location) in the duration of 9 years but not continuous.
Do I really need to get residential certificate from all the Sangkat I have ever lived? What if I never had a lease agreement because I lived with other people? The Sangkat I have lived do not know whether I have lived there.

Do you also know that they will keep the passport during the period of checking? I will have to leave while they will be checking so wondering if they could return me the passport...

I really appreciate your help.