Foreigners who have acquired Cambodian citizenship face revocation if they commit any of five specified offenses. They include obtaining citizenship illegally, as reportedly demonstrated in the case of Chen Zhi, the founder of Prince Bank.
Article 52 of a December 1, 2025, Sub-decree on the Implementation of the Law on Nationality outlines the five offences.
Citizenship shall be revoked if they commit treason or conspire with foreign entities in a manner that harms Cambodia’s core interests.
The second condition involves engaging in activities that harm national sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security.
The third results from voluntarily serving in a foreign military or acting as a public official for a foreign state and refusing to resign, despite orders from the Royal Government of Cambodia.
The fourth states explained that citizenship will be forfeited if the foreigner obtained it through fraud or the provision of false information.
The fifth stipulates that it will be revoked if the individual is convicted of a crime or misdemeanour involving violations against the King, threats to state security or acts of terrorism.
As part of the revocation procedure, the Ministry of Interior must verify the identity of the citizen in question, review the original citizenship application file, and then conduct a thorough investigation and collect evidence of the individual’s offenses.
The ministry will assess the impact of the offending on the Kingdom, then submit a report and recommendations for the Prime Minister to review, according to the sub-decree.
Regarding the revocation of citizenship from those who obtained it through fraud or false information, the ministry must clearly identify the individual and examine their original application, then determine if fraud was involved. If necessary, it may summon the individual for further clarification.
“In cases where there is sufficient evidence and it is assessed that the Cambodian citizen has committed an offense, as stated in Point 4 of Article 52 of this sub-decree, the ministry shall prepare a detailed report on the results of the investigation and assessment, submitting recommendations to the Prime Minister for review and decision,” said the sub-decree.
Recently, there has been criticism of the fact that Cambodia has granted citizenship to several foreigners who were later found to have been involved in cybercrimes and used their Cambodian passports to commit offenses. Last year, several naturalized Cambodians were detained by Singaporean authorities in connection with a major fraud case.
The most recent high-profile case occurred in the Kingdom. It involved Chen Zhi, the founder of Prince Bank. Cambodian and Chinese authorities arrested him and repatriated him to China to face charges earlier this month.
Prak Sokhonn, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, stated last week that Chen Zhi had obtained Cambodian citizenship illegally.
