I didn't know it was so difficult and expensive to get a visa in Cambodia, you have to do that process every ten months if you want to live there for life? Or there may come a time when they will not give you a visa anymore? Here in Panama it is also difficult for immigrants but they have more options.
Foreigners willing to play along with a corrupt visa regime can get renewable one-year visas without leaving the country. The unfortunate part is that the majority of folks doing this process live here and do not work here. The government has become addicted to the money for all of these work permits, tourist licenses, business licenses, tax payments and other things, all from people who aren't even working here.
There are only two visa options here, work and tourist, so a digital nomad or someone working for a foreign company is going to have pay taxes twice for living here, making Cambodia unattractive. I prefer to do these complicated visa runs in order to avoid all of this bureaucracy. One day if I ever make a business, I wouldn't mind at all to get all the proper licenses and permits.
Besides addicted it would be worrying if its dependent of that viscous money, is Cambodia that populated by foreigners? I have seen online places like Bali that are becoming attractive because they are cheap to live, I have told my wife that may be I would like to move some where else in the future
There aren't that many foreigners living here, much more tourists than residents. However, I think tourist money is easier for the government because they don't have to deal with respecting the human rights of foreign residents. I think the government would love to chase out all non-rich foreign residents and focus on making money from the big investors and the tourism sector. A little guy like me making a small income from some English classes isn't very important to the government despite my work being valuable to the citizens.