Cambodia Ordinary Visa (Type E)
A 30 day entry visa that is the mandatory starting document for every long stay in Cambodia. It conveys no residence and no work right on its own.
The name confuses people. It is sold as a business visa, but it is not a work authorisation and not restricted to business travellers. It is the only visa that can be converted, inside Cambodia, into a one year extension. Tourism, in immigration terms, is a dead end, and this is the door out of it.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | Anyone intending to stay longer than a tourist visit, including retirees, employees, founders and students |
| Route family | Business, as the entry document for all long stay routes |
| Validity | 30 days from entry |
| Stay per entry | 30 days |
| Threshold | USD 35 for the e-visa in 2026, of which USD 30 is the visa and USD 5 the processing fee. No means test |
| Renewal | Not renewable as a visa. Converted inside Cambodia into an extension of stay |
| Settlement | None. Switch required to EB, ER, ES or another extension |
| PR clock | None |
| Citizenship clock | None on its own, though continuous legal time on an E counts toward the seven year residence test |
| Family | Partial. Each family member needs their own E visa and their own extension |
| Local employment | No. The entry visa conveys no work right |
| Tax headline | 183 days in a calendar year makes you a tax resident. Worldwide income taxable in law, foreign source enforcement is inconsistent |
| Processing | About 3 working days for the e-visa. Same day on arrival |
Application flow
- Decide the entry route: e-visa before travel, embassy, or visa on arrival. The e-visa costs USD 35 in 2026.
- Check your nationality against the consular list. Some nationalities cannot use the e-visa or the arrival desk.
- Enter Cambodia and note the date. The 30 days run from entry, not from issue.
- Within those 30 days, apply at the Phnom Penh immigration department, or through an agent, for the extension that matches your situation.
Good fit
Anyone who has decided to stay more than a month, which means every long stayer. It is cheap, it is issued quickly, and it is the only document from which an EB, ER or ES extension can be obtained.
Poor fit
Tourists who will not extend, who should buy a T visa and pay less. Anyone who assumes the E visa is a work permit. Anyone from an excluded nationality who has not arranged an embassy application. And anyone who books a return flight inside 30 days without an extension already priced.
Watchpoints
- A tourist T visa cannot be converted inside the country. You must leave and re-enter on an E. People lose a week and a flight this way, repeatedly.
- The 30 days run from entry, not from issue. Arrive with 25 days left on the sticker and you have 25 days to complete the extension.
- Some nationalities are excluded from the e-visa and the arrival desk. As of the 2023 consular list that includes Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Nigeria.
- Overstay is charged per day. USD 10 per day in 2026, collected at exit, and a long overstay can end in detention rather than a fine.
- The E visa is not a work authorisation. The right to work comes from an EB extension plus a Ministry of Labour permit, two further applications.
- Agents sell the E visa plus extension as a package. Government fees are small and fixed. Anything above roughly USD 300 all in is margin, not cost.
Sources
- MFAIC, Cambodia retirement visa (ER) page, including the E visa conversion requirement, checked 2026-10-22
- General Department of Immigration, visa categories and extension fees, checked 2026-10-22
- Consular visa schedule and nationality exclusions, secondary compilation, checked 2026-10-22