Draft Law on Citizenship Revocation Reaches National Assembly Standing Committee

Publish on August 14, 2025
Cambodia’s National Assembly has confirmed that a draft law on revoking citizenship has been forwarded to specialised committees for review, after receiving initial approval from the Standing Committee.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Assembly Secretariat announced that the Standing Committee had agreed to forward the draft amendment to the Law on Nationality to the Interior, National Defence, Public Functions and Border Affairs Committee, as well as the Legislation and Justice Committee. These committees will study the draft and report back to the Standing Committee.
The decision follows a meeting of the Standing Committee on August 13.
The draft amendment was prepared after King Norodom Sihamoni promulgated a constitutional amendment to Article 33 on July 15. That amendment had been approved by the National Assembly on July 11 and completed Senate review on July 14.
The original Article 33 stated that Cambodian citizens could not be deprived of nationality, deported, or extradited to any other country unless under a mutual agreement, and that citizens living abroad were protected by the state. It also stipulated that the acquisition of Cambodian nationality must be determined by law.
Following the amendment, new wording was added to state that both the acquisition and loss of Cambodian nationality, including revocation, must be determined by law.
On July 14, Cambodian People’s Party leader Hun Sen warned that a group of Cambodians was conspiring with Thailand to form an armed force to attack Cambodia. He said such individuals were committing treason and would be targeted under the new citizenship revocation law.
Hun Sen stressed that no citizen would lose nationality unless they acted against or betrayed national interests. He added that some Cambodians who feared losing citizenship should focus on avoiding treasonous acts rather than worrying about the law.
Opposition Candlelight Party senior official Hing Soks​an recently said he supported revoking Cambodian nationality from foreigners who commit treason against Cambodia, to safeguard the value of the Cambodian people and the nation’s citizenship. However, he opposed any revocation of nationality from Cambodians themselves.