Legal help for foreigners in Cambodia.

Cambodia is a civil law jurisdiction shaped by its French colonial legal history, and the courts run in Khmer. One structural fact catches out more foreigners here than almost anything else: Cambodia has never joined the Hague Apostille Convention. A document apostilled for use elsewhere — a power of attorney, a company incorporation record, a marriage certificate — is not valid here in that form. It needs full consular legalisation through the Cambodian embassy or foreign ministry chain, a slower, multi-step process that surprises people who assumed the apostille they already paid for would be enough. Two other things run through every situation below. Foreign ownership in Cambodia is structured, not open. Many business categories restrict foreign ownership outright, which is why nominee shareholder arrangements exist — and why they are also where foreign business owners lose control of what they built. A nominee structure that looks fine on paper can leave you with no real legal claim to your own company. Your visa status and any legal matter move together. A criminal charge, a business dispute, or an overstay can each affect your right to remain, and the reverse is also true — immigration problems surface faster once you are already known to the authorities for something else. If you need help now, these are the situations where hours matter — being arrested and the first 24 hours that follow, criminal charges and bail, recovering money after a scam, and a visa overstay you have just discovered. These reward preparation over speed — buying property and the due diligence that protects it, forming a company and the nominee arrangements that quietly undermine one, and divorce as a foreign national. Each situation below is written for foreigners, checked against official Cambodian sources, and handled by qualified specialists who practise in this jurisdiction.