US increased urges 'increased caution' for travelers to Thailand, Cambodia
The State Department raised both advisories to Level 2 on July 25, citing the "risk of unrest" in Thailand and crime and landmines in Cambodia. Areas near the Thailand-Cambodia border are also designated Level 4 – its highest – because of armed conflict.
'Do not travel to areas within 50km of the Thai-Cambodian border due to ongoing fighting between Thai and Cambodian military forces,' the State Department's Thailand advisory said.
Cambodia and Thailand agreed to an "immediate and unconditional ceasefire" from midnight on Monday, in a bid to halt their deadliest conflict in more than a decade after five days of fierce fighting that has displaced more than 300,000 people.
The Southeast Asian neighbors have wrangled for decades over border territory and have been tussling since the killing of a Cambodian soldier in a skirmish late in May, which led to a troop buildup on both sides. A full-blown diplomatic crisis brought Thailand's fragile coalition government to the brink of collapse.
The advisories also highlight other potential risks. In Thailand, which has seen increased interest from travelers as the setting of the most recent season of 'The White Lotus', the State Department warned of insurgent activities in certain provinces, for example.
'Periodic violence between Thai security services and armed insurgents has been known to occur in Thailand's three southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat,' the advisory said. 'Seventeen districts in these provinces remain under a declared state of emergency due to ongoing violent conflict.'
The State Department recommended that travelers to both countries sign up for its Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), which can help them receive emergency updates, be prepared to evacuate without the help of the U.S. government, and take other safety precautions. The full list of recommendations can be found here for Thailand and here for Cambodia.
Contributing: Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
a few seconds ago
- Newsweek
Map Shows Countries With Highest US Visa Overstay Rates
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The State Department is proposing a pilot program that would require some visitors to post a bond of up to $15,000 before being granted a U.S. visa, targeting travelers from countries with high visa overstay rates. A map created by Newsweek shows what countries would be affected if the pilot program were implemented based on the most recent available overstay data. The map highlights nations like Angola, Liberia, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cabo Verde and Burkina Faso—all with visa overstay rates above 10 percent in 2023. Why It Matters According to a notice published Monday in the Federal Register, the 12-month program would apply to applicants for business and tourist visas from countries identified as having high rates of visa overstays, poor internal document security or citizenship-by-investment programs that require no residency. The bond would be returned if the traveler departs the U.S. on time, and forfeited if they stay past the allowed date. What To Know The new visa bond program would take effect August 20, according to documents reviewed by Newsweek and a notice previewed Monday on the Federal Register website. The Department of Homeland Security says the goal is to ensure the U.S. government doesn't incur costs when a visitor violates visa terms. "Aliens applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure and who are nationals of countries identified by the department as having high visa overstay rates ... may be subject to the pilot program," the notice said. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, more than 500,000 people overstayed visas in 2023. By comparison, other countries have far more total overstays, but much lower rates. Colombia had the most total overstays in 2023 with 40,884, followed by Haiti (27,269), Venezuela (21,513), Brazil (20,811) and the Dominican Republic (20,259). Colombia also sent nearly 945,000 visitors to the U.S., resulting in a relatively low overstay rate. The administration of President Donald Trump first introduced a version of the visa bond rule in 2020, but it was never implemented due to the sharp decline in international travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. The revived proposal includes similar criteria and is part of a broader effort to tighten immigration enforcement. The list of countries subject to the bond requirement will be released at least 15 days before the program begins, according to the notice. The State Department said the program would help determine whether the long-standing assumption that visa bonds are too difficult to enforce holds up under modern conditions. What People Are Saying The public notice stated: "The Pilot Program will help the Department assess the continued reliance on the untested historical assumption that imposing visa bonds to achieve the foreign policy and national security goals of the United States remains too cumbersome to be practical." Andrew Kreighbaum, a journalist covering immigration, posted to X, formerly Twitter: "It's getting more expensive for many business and tourist travelers to enter the U.S. On top of new visa integrity fees, the State Department is imposing visa bonds as high as $15,000." What Happens Next Visa bonds are not new, but the State Department has rarely used them. A section of the Foreign Affairs Manual has described the process as impractical, a view the department now says was based on assumption rather than data.
Politico
31 minutes ago
- Politico
Rwanda agrees to take up to 250 migrant deportees
Rwanda took the action in part to strengthen relations with the U.S., according to a second Rwandan official, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic relations. 'When you're a small country, any time you can find a way consistent with your own policies and values, to be able to talk to a major country about something that it is interested in and not just asking them to take an interest in your issues, it just creates a more productive, obviously not equal, but a more balanced relationship and that's good for both sides,' the official said. The State Department and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The State Department has already sent Kigali a list of people it wants to send in the first tranche. Rwanda expects to receive the first 10 deportees soon and will accept deportees in small groups, the second Rwandan official said. The nationality of the deportees was not immediately clear. The administration has asked at least 15 African countries, including Eswatini and South Sudan, to accept migrants who cannot return to their home countries as part of its sweeping immigration strategy. The U.S. will provide money to support these efforts, according to the second Rwandan official, who declined to say how much. El Salvador received $6 million to incarcerate Venezuelan and Salvadoran nationals. Rwanda, unlike El Salvador, will not be imprisoning anyone. The funds from the U.S. to Kigali will support extra work by Rwandan immigration authorities and the training programs. Reuters previously reported that Rwanda had agreed to accept the migrants but did not provide details about the payment from the U.S. or the Rwandan government's motivations. Per the terms of the memorandum of understanding agreed between the U.S. and Rwanda, Rwanda can approve each person who will arrive and will offer additional support.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump Finds a Brilliant New Way to Wreck the Tourism Industry
A visa to the land of the free may soon cost you $15,000. The State Department issued a notice Monday saying that it will require bonds of up to $15,000 to secure some tourist and business visas. The high bond fees, which would be kept as insurance and then refunded when visitors leave the country, will be levied against tourists from countries with high rates of overstays, according to the notice. The administration has not yet specified what those countries will be. The 12-month pilot program is set to go into effect this month, and joins other recent visa restrictions, such as the reinstatement of in-person interviews. Donald Trump tried this once before: In 2020, during the final months of his presidency, he instituted visa bonds for travelers from a number of African countries. However, the Covid-19 pandemic dampened travel so severely that it didn't have much impact and the measure was struck down by President Joe Biden when he took office. This move will likely make travel to the U.S. unaffordable for many at a time when the number of international visits to the U.S. is already plummeting. Forbes projected that Trump's policies will cost the U.S. up to $29 billion in lost tourism and put millions of jobs at risk—and that's without visa bonds.
