Cambodia Visa Requirements: What You Need to Know (Updated September 2026)

Get e-Visa with Sherpa

Cambodia is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia where every one of our travellers needs a visa, but it is also one of the least painful to get. This guide was checked against the UK Foreign Office advice and Cambodia's official e-visa and e-Arrival portals in September 2026.

Do I need a visa for Cambodia?

A visa is required: citizens of the United Kingdom, Ireland, every EU country, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand must hold a visa to enter Cambodia. Only ASEAN neighbours such as Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Indonesia and the Philippines get in visa-free.

Two easy ways to get it: apply online for the official e-visa before you fly, or buy a visa on arrival at the airports and the main land borders. Both give a single-entry tourist (T) visa valid for 30 days from the day you enter, and both cost about the same. The e-visa is the calmer option if you are landing late or crossing a busy land border.

The e-Arrival card: since 1 September 2024 anyone arriving by air at Phnom Penh, Siem Reap or Sihanoukville must also submit a free electronic arrival card within the seven days before landing, at arrival.gov.kh. It replaces the paper card. Land borders still use paper forms.

Transit: stay airside on a connection and you need no visa. Leave the terminal and you do.

• Permitted stay: 30 days from the date of entry on a tourist visa, extendable once by 30 days from inside Cambodia.
• Passport validity: at least six months from the day you arrive, undamaged and with a blank page. A damaged passport is a common reason for refusal.
• E-visa validity: you must enter within three months of the e-visa being issued.
• Overstays: fined for every day over (currently US$10 a day), and after 30 days over you must leave the country and pay. Our 10-day Cambodia trip sits well inside the 30 days.

What you need to enter Cambodia

• A passport valid for at least six months from arrival, undamaged, with a blank page.
• Your e-visa printout, or a passport photo and US$30 in cash for the visa on arrival.
• The e-Arrival card confirmation (air arrivals only), on your phone or printed.
• A return or onward ticket. Not always checked, but sometimes asked for.
• A yellow fever certificate if you are arriving from a country with a risk of transmission.
• Your accommodation address. Hotels and guesthouses register foreign guests on the Foreigners Present in Cambodia System; if you stay with friends, you register yourself through the same app.

Getting your Cambodia tourist visa: e-visa or visa on arrival

Every traveller from the UK, EU, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand needs one of these. Both are single-entry 30-day tourist visas; the difference is where you queue.

• E-visa, online: apply at the official portal, evisa.gov.kh, or its app. Upload a passport scan and a photo, pay by card and allow three working days (the Foreign Office says apply at least four days ahead). The tourist e-visa costs US$30 plus a small processing fee, about US$36 in total. Only copycat sites charge more.
• Where the e-visa works: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville airports, and the main land crossings from Thailand (Poipet and Cham Yeam), Vietnam (Bavet) and Laos (Tropaeng Kreal). Arriving at a smaller border post, take the visa on arrival instead.
• Visa on arrival: available at the airports and at land borders, US$30 for a tourist visa, paid in US dollars cash, with one passport photo. Fill in the form on the plane or at the counter.
• E-Arrival card: free, at arrival.gov.kh, within the seven days before an arrival by air. Do it the same day you check in online.
• Extending: a 30-day tourist extension is done through the immigration department in Phnom Penh, usually via a travel agent for a small fee.

The quickest way to see the exact rules for your passport is to check your requirements with Sherpa, which keeps track of the latest entry changes for you.

Travelling within Cambodia

With your visa stamped, the whole country is open with no permits: Angkor, Phnom Penh, Battambang, Kampot and the islands off Sihanoukville. Our 10-day Backpacking Cambodia trip links Phnom Penh, Kampot, Koh Rong and Siem Reap with transport, accommodation, an airport pick-up and a local guide, and it pairs naturally with our Thailand and Vietnam visa guides if you are crossing overland. For when to go, see our Cambodia weather guide.

Official sources

Check the latest visa requirements:

• UK Foreign Office: Cambodia entry requirements
• Cambodia e-Arrival card (official)
• Cambodia General Department of Immigration
• Contact the Cambodia embassy or consulate in your country

Handy tools for your trip

• Travel insurance: cover your backpacking trip with Nomad Insurance from SafetyWing.
• Money: dodge bad exchange rates with a Wise travel card.
• Flights: compare fares for your Cambodia flights on Skyscanner.

Get the e-visa done the week before, do the e-Arrival card when you check in online, and the border at Siem Reap takes minutes. Check out our Cambodia backpacking tours.