Free · Cambodia

Cambodia e-Arrival Is Free and Is Not a Visa

Cambodia's e-Arrival card and a Cambodian visa answer different questions.

• The e-Arrival is the government's digital arrival declaration. The official Immigration FAQ says the card is free to complete.
• A visa, when required for your passport and purpose, is permission you must obtain through the appropriate visa process. A visa application may involve a fee.
• Admission at the border is still a separate decision. Completing the e-Arrival or holding a visa does not turn border control into an automatic formality.

The fastest way to avoid confusion is to complete the tasks in the right order: check your passport, establish your visa position, submit the e-Arrival through the official portal, save its QR code, and then carry the evidence needed for entry.

This guide was checked against Cambodian government sources on 24 October 2026. Entry rules, visa eligibility, ports of entry and digital procedures can change, so reopen the official links for your own travel date.

The three-question test

The government's e-Arrival FAQ is unusually direct: the e-Arrival is not a visa, travellers who already have a visa still complete the e-Arrival, and registering or updating the card through the official service is free.

Check whether the digital route covers your entry point

The official e-Arrival portal currently identifies three airports: Techo International Airport (KTI), Siem Reap Angkor International Airport (SAI), and Sihanoukville International Airport. That is useful evidence for an airport arrival, but it should not be stretched into a promise that the same digital procedure is available at every land or sea crossing.

Before travelling overland or by sea, verify the procedure for the exact checkpoint with Cambodian immigration and your carrier. Also check whether any visa or e-Visa you plan to use is accepted at that entry point. A valid submission for one arrival route does not establish that a different checkpoint can process it.

The e-Visa site maintains a separate entry-port list. As checked on 24 October 2026, it lists Techo International, Siem Reap Angkor and Sihanoukville airports, plus Bavet and Tropaeng Kreal land ports, for e-Visa entry. It also labels Cham Yeam and Poipet as temporarily closed for e-Visa entry until further notice. That wording does not by itself establish that the entire border crossing is closed, and it does not define e-Arrival availability. Reopen the official e-Visa page and verify crossing operation separately for the actual travel date.

For any itinerary, keep the questions separate:

• Is this entry point listed for the e-Arrival process?
• Is the traveller's visa, e-Visa or exemption valid for this entry point and purpose?
• Will the traveller actually pass Cambodian immigration here?

This route check matters especially for a bus journey, river crossing, cruise call, self-transfer, or airport change.

Use only the official e-Arrival address

The official portal is:

https://arrival.gov.kh/

The Cambodian General Department of Immigration identifies this as the only official website for the Cambodia e-Arrival Card. Before entering passport details, check the address bar character by character. The browser's host name must be exactly arrival.gov.kh; a longer host such as arrival.gov.kh.example.com is not the government site, even though it contains the same letters.

You can also begin at the General Department of Immigration:

https://immigration.gov.kh/

Then follow its e-Arrival route.

Third-party sites may offer travel-document assistance. That does not make them the government e-Arrival service, and paying a third party does not make the free government registration more valid. If you choose assistance, first understand what service is being sold, who receives your passport data, and whether you are also being charged for a separate visa application.

“Free” applies to the e-Arrival card, not every immigration service

The official FAQ says there is no charge to register or update the e-Arrival Card through the official website or mobile application.

That statement should not be stretched into “everything on the journey is free.” A visa or visa-on-arrival process may have its own fee. The official e-Arrival portal also brings several arrival functions into one digital environment, so seeing a payment step connected with a visa service does not mean the e-Arrival declaration itself has become a paid form.

Before paying, label the transaction:

1. Is this the free e-Arrival registration? Use the official portal and do not accept a mysterious “mandatory card fee.”
2. Is this a visa application or visa-related payment? Confirm that your passport and purpose are eligible and that the fee appears on an official Cambodian government service.
3. Is this optional third-party assistance? Read the service description and refund terms before supplying personal data or paying.

Never infer visa eligibility from the fact that a payment page appears. Eligibility comes first; payment comes only through the correct official process for the traveller.

When to submit

The official e-Arrival FAQ says you may register and submit within seven days before arrival in Cambodia. The General Department of Immigration currently also states that travellers can submit within seven days before arrival or on arrival.

The practical choice is to submit before departure, once your arrival details are stable and you are inside the seven-day window. Waiting until the border creates avoidable dependence on battery life, mobile data, airport Wi-Fi and time pressure.

Use the date you will actually arrive in Cambodia, not the date you leave home. For an overnight flight or a multi-country journey, those dates may differ.

What the e-Arrival combines

The official service describes the e-Arrival as a single portal replacing separate paper processes for:

• immigration arrival information;
• the health declaration; and
• the customs declaration.

Combining those forms does not merge them with the visa decision. It simply puts several arrival declarations into one digital process.

Read each question as a declaration, not as a travel quiz. Use the passport you will carry and the itinerary you will follow. If you are unsure what a customs or health question covers, use the official guidance rather than guessing or copying another traveller's answer.

A safe submission routine

1. Settle the passport and visa questions first

Confirm which passport you will present. Check its number, name, nationality, date of birth and expiry. If you hold more than one passport, do not mix the ticket, visa and e-Arrival details from different documents.

Then check the current visa requirement for that passport and your true purpose of travel. Tourism, employment, study, business activity and residence are not interchangeable labels. The official Cambodian e-Visa site is:

https://www.evisa.gov.kh/

Do not rely on an old blog post for nationality eligibility, fee, permitted entry point, processing time or length of stay. Check those items on the official visa service for the actual trip.

2. Gather stable arrival information

Have these ready before opening the form:

• the passport you will use;
• your Cambodian arrival date and route;
• flight, vehicle or other arrival details as applicable;
• the address of your first accommodation;
• an email address you can access; and
• truthful health and customs information.

If the first night is not yet booked, solve that practical gap instead of inventing an address.

3. Open the official portal directly

Type arrival.gov.kh or follow the link from the Immigration Department. Confirm the secure connection and government domain before entering personal information.

4. Copy, then compare

Enter passport details from the document itself. Before submission, compare each high-risk field:

• surname and given names;
• passport number, including letters and zeroes;
• nationality;
• date of birth;
• passport expiry;
• arrival date; and
• email address.

A one-character error can separate the digital record from the passport at the moment you need them to match.

5. Save the QR code offline

The official FAQ tells travellers to take a screenshot or download the QR code before closing the website. It also says a printed QR code may be used.

Keep at least two practical copies:

• an offline image or downloaded file on the phone you will carry; and
• a second copy, such as a printout or an offline copy on another device available to your party.

Do not leave the only copy inside an email account that requires roaming data or two-factor authentication through a phone number you cannot access abroad.

6. Correct mistakes before immigration processing

The official FAQ currently says information can be edited and the e-Arrival resubmitted as long as the traveller has not yet been processed by an immigration officer.

If you discover an error, use the official correction route. Do not edit the screenshot or create a homemade QR document. After resubmitting, save the current QR code and remove older copies that could cause confusion.

Four common traveller situations

“I already have a Cambodian visa.”

The official FAQ says travellers still complete the e-Arrival. The visa and the arrival declaration are separate requirements.

“I can obtain a visa on arrival.”

That possibility does not turn the e-Arrival into the visa. Verify that visa-on-arrival is currently available for your passport, purpose and intended entry point. Complete the e-Arrival as instructed and be ready for the separate visa process and any official fee.

“My nationality does not need a visa for this short visit.”

Visa exemption does not automatically remove the arrival declaration. Follow the current e-Arrival instruction and carry the passport and supporting travel evidence required for entry.

“I am only transiting.”

Transit depends on the real itinerary. Remaining airside on a protected connection is different from collecting baggage, changing airport or terminal where entry is required, staying landside, or checking in again. Ask the carrier whether you will pass Cambodian immigration, then confirm the corresponding Cambodian requirements through official sources.

What to carry with the QR code

The QR code is one item in a travel-document set. Keep together:

• the passport used for the submission;
• the e-Arrival QR code;
• the visa, e-Visa certificate or other authorisation if required;
• onward or return travel evidence when applicable;
• the first accommodation address; and
• supporting documents appropriate to the stated purpose of travel.

The official e-Visa service publishes entry-point and document instructions. Check them rather than assuming that an e-Visa is usable at every border crossing.

After entry: keep the record you receive

The official e-Arrival portal currently explains that arriving visitors receive a v-Pass by email, replacing the inked passport stamp. Procedures can change, so check the current portal before travel and confirm the entry record delivered to you.

Do not calculate the authorised stay from your hotel booking, return ticket or the last-valid date shown on a visa. Keep the official entry record and read the period and conditions actually granted. If something appears wrong, ask the immigration authority promptly rather than waiting until departure.

Warning signs before you pay or submit

Pause when a site or message:

• calls the e-Arrival itself a visa;
• charges a compulsory “government e-Arrival card fee” without separating a visa or assistance service;
• uses a domain that only resembles arrival.gov.kh;
• promises guaranteed admission;
• asks you to state a false purpose or accommodation address;
• tells you not to check the official government site; or
• requests payment or passport data through an unsolicited message.

These signs do not prove what a site is, but they are enough to stop and verify the recipient, service and domain.

The five-minute final check

• [ ] I am using the passport I checked for this trip.
• [ ] I separately confirmed the current visa rule for my nationality, document, purpose and entry point.
• [ ] I opened https://arrival.gov.kh/, not a look-alike address.
• [ ] I submitted inside the official seven-day window using my actual arrival date.
• [ ] My passport number, name, nationality, birth date and expiry match the document.
• [ ] My arrival and first-accommodation details are accurate.
• [ ] I saved the current QR code offline and removed any superseded copy.
• [ ] I understand that the e-Arrival registration is free, while a separate visa service may have an official fee.
• [ ] I have the visa or other authorisation required for my trip.
• [ ] I will retain the official entry record or v-Pass issued after arrival.

Official sources

Checked on 24 October 2026:

1. Cambodia e-Arrival official portal and FAQ
   https://arrival.gov.kh/
2. General Department of Immigration
   https://immigration.gov.kh/
3. Official Immigration e-Arrival service endpoint (technical)
   https://e-arrival-api.immigration.gov.kh/
4. Official Cambodia e-Visa service
   https://www.evisa.gov.kh/

The central distinction is worth repeating: the e-Arrival is a free digital declaration; it is not a visa. Check the visa question separately, submit the arrival card only through the official portal, and keep the QR code and entry record with your travel documents.

Download PDF

Back to the library