Getting a Cambodian Visa, Especially for Indian Citizens

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As you all might already know, Preethika and I went to Cambodia and Vietnam recently. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip, and some pics have already been shared by us on Instagram (follow Preethika and me if you aren’t already!), with more to come! A lot of people have already started enquiring on how to get to Cambodia and Vietnam and I figured starting with the visa procedure (yes, we do require one ?) might be a good idea. Getting a Cambodia visa for Indian citizens is pretty easy, just in case you didn’t know!
Cambodian Visa Process
That’s the Angkor Wat during sunrise

Applying for Cambodia Visa for Indian Citizens

There are three ways by which you can get a Visa to The Kingdom of Cambodia:
  1. Visa On Arrival
  2. Electronic Visa or eVisa
  3. Apply at the Royal Embassy of Cambodia and get your Visa stamped on your passport before your leave
Since the first two options are the easiest, I’d recommend you go with one of those.

Visa On Arrival

Cambodia Visa On Arrival for Indians (and everyone else) costs USD20 USD35 (please carry money with you when you fly to either Siem Reap or Phnom Penh, you won’t find ATMs there), and carry the following documents.
  1. Passport in original with minimum 6 months validity
  2. One recent photograph, preferably with white background (4×6 cm)
  3. 20 USD USD35 Visa fee in cash
  4. Return confirm flight ticket. If you intend to return by road, do carry a covering letter stating the same with a valid visa of the next country, i.e., Thailand or Vietnam. Remember, you cannot get Visa On Arrival in Thailand if travelling overland from Cambodia at the Aranyaprophet Checkpoint.  However, if you have a valid visa for Thailand, you can enter Thailand via this checkpoint.
  5. Bank/credit card statements or at least USD500 in cash as a proof of sufficient funds for 15 days.
The Cambodia Visa On Arrival is valid for 3 months from the date of issue, but the duration of stay is restricted to 30 days for a single entry.  If you would like to extend your stay by more than 30 days, you can request an extension of Visa at the Immigration Counter outside Phnom Penh Airport at a cost of USD25. The visa is extended for a maximum of 30 days.

Cambodian eVisa

This is by far the best way to get a Cambodia visa for Indian citizens, and this is exactly what we did. It does cost USD8 extra, but it is simple and absolutely hassle-free.
Head over to this link, fill up the form and make the necessary payment. You will receive the Cambodian eVisa in a day or two. Once it hits your mailbox, take a printout and you are good to go! The Cambodian eVisa can be extended by 30 more days at the Cambodian National Police Immigration Department, Phnom Penh. Also, the good part about the eVisa is that even if your trip gets postponed by a bit, you can always change the date of arrival and departure as long as it is within the validity of the eVisa and lesser than 30 days.
Our experience: We landed at Siem Reap airport, proceeded to the immigration area, filled a form (which has your arrival and departure information) provided by the airline and walked across to the counters along with our passports and printouts of our eVisas. The officer processed us in no time and we got through all of this in under 5 minutes.
Siem Reap, Cambodia
That’s us at Siem Reap International Airport
Simple enough? 🙂
Do you have any questions about the Cambodian Visa process for Indian citizens? If yes, do ask in the comments below.

 


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63 thoughts on “Getting a Cambodian Visa, Especially for Indian Citizens”

  1. I also been to Cambodia last month and paid 30 USD for Visa on arrival. Someone I know taken e-visa last month and he paid 30USD + 7 USD for processing.
    I am sure you must have enjoyed the Cambodia.

    Reply
  2. HI, I’m from India, planning to fly Bali,Indonesia. While I booking air tickets from India to Bali Via Singapore/Kuala Lumpur. At both Singapore/Kuala Lumpur, layover time is about 8 hours, do I need transit visa to connect to the another flight in these both airports?

    Reply
    • Missed out on your question, sorry.

      Depends on the flight you are taking and the valid long term visas (US, UK, Schengen etc) you may have. Could you give us more details on this for us to respond better please?

      Reply
  3. We want to get our tourist visa (we will be in Cambodia for 9 days) stamped before leaving.Any idea what’s the cost ? Embassy does not responds to mails or phones

    Reply
  4. My name is Makara, I am Cambodian. I want to visit India. Can i get visa on arrival? I saw some website say citizen of Cambodia can India visa on arrival and other websites say cannot.

    Reply
    • Depends on where you are entering from. The Cambodia eVisa is valid only in one Vietnam border crossing: Bavet (Svay Rieng).

      Reply
  5. hello,

    i am a little confused about visa for Indians. I plan to club it with Bangkok. Should we take a flight to bangkok and then by road to Cambodia or fly directly? We have been putting away this trip for months as this is very confusing.

    Reply
    • Hi Gayatri. You can fly to Cambodia directly. It’s not that complicated actually. Please let us know if you have any more questions and we shall try to be of help.

      Reply
  6. Thank you so much for sharing great information on Cambodian visa for Indian citizens. Cambodian is very nice place. many people Indians roam to Cambodian. Your blog right information to how to get Cambodian visa. your blog useful for Indians.

    Reply
  7. While applying eVisa how do u attach the passport file, which page and what format? I was filling eVisa could not attach and had to abandon in between. Pl advise.

    Reply
  8. HI. I am planning a to Cambodia & Vietnam and I hold Indian passport. I want to understand what are the visa requirement if I go to Vietnam from Cambodia by road using Bus? And from where can I get the visa?

    Reply
    • Hi Ketaki. We did exactly the same thing. I presume you are going by bus from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City. If that’s the case, then you will have to apply for Vietnam Tourist Visa in advance. You can do the same from a VFS centre in your city.

      When are you planning to go?

      Reply
      • Hi Narayanan,the information provided is helpful,thanks.I am travelling to Cambodia and Vietnam in June.I have two questions –

        1.I will be travelling from Chennai to Siem Reap via Bangkok and i intend to carry Cambodian evisa (through the website you have shared).Will i need a transit visa at Bangkok? I am travelling through Air Asia flight (Chennai-Bangkok-Siem Reap).Note,the entire travel is on a single ticket.

        2.I will be travelling from Phnom Penh to Hi Chi Minh via bus.Is a Vietnam evisa sufficient or do i need the Vietnam embassy stamped visa prior to my travel?Not sure if evisa is acceptable in road border crossing…

        Reply
        • Hey Sareesh,

          Thanks. Answering your questions below.
          1. Single ticket = Single PNR? If yes, then Air Asia will transfer your luggage directly to the next flight. If not, you will have to check with the airline on visa requirements (if you require a transit visa or not).
          2. If you are going by road from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City by bus, which is what we did as well, you need to get a stamped visa on your passport. Vietnam eVisa won’t suffice.

          FYI, you are going in a month which is likely to be hot and rainy. So carry clothes accordingly.

          Reply
  9. I will be going in September. Yes, will be taking bus from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City. Do you how many days it takes to get a visa and are there any special conditions to cross border by road.

    Reply
  10. Hi, I have booked multicity flights. Mumbai-Phnom Penh and Return flight is Siem Reap-Mumbai. Does there any problem to get visa on arrival as my return journey is not from arrival airport (Phnom Penh)?

    Reply
  11. I am landing at Phnom Penh airport and departure is from Siem Reap airport (multicity flights booking) . So, is there any problem in getting visa on arrival as my return journey is not from arrival airport?

    Reply
    • No Gunwantrao. There would be no problem if you were to enter Cambodia from Phnom Penh by air and leave from Siem Reap.

      Reply
  12. Hi I am planning to start from manipur cross the border to myanmar,then to vietnam,las,cambodia and thailand…can I travel all the way by land and enter at ports

    Reply
  13. Hi Narayanan, I’m travelling to siam reap on nov 25th and i’m booked chennai-bangkok-chennai on one pnr and then bangkok-siamreap-bangkok on another. I dont need to leave the airport at bkk en-route to siam reap but I need to go land-side to collect baggage. can i go ahead and get the cambodia e-visa first and then figure out the thai visas? also would you have any idea if bangkok don mueang gives out transit visas on arrival? the multiple entry tourist visa is very steep INR 12,000/- so I thought I would do a transit visa for going through the airport and on retruning from siam reap to bkk I will be staying in thailand for a week so I could do a single entry tourist visa then. Would value your thoughts on this! Thanks for this blogpost!

    Reply
    • Bad luck Kalpana. You will have to get a Thai visa, there’s nothing you can do to escape.

      Why bad luck? Because Thailand, only yesterday, have waived off visa on arrival fees starting from Dec 1 for a period of 2 months.

      Which airline are you travelling with, during both legs?

      Reply
  14. I know!! Air Asia. Return from Cambodia into Thailand is 11.50pm on nov 30th… so maybe second time no visa fees if the queue is long enough 🙂
    I’m now wondering whether to just chance a visa on arrival both ways through thailand.

    Reply
    • If I were you, this is what I’d do. Given both legs are Air Asia, I would first put in a request that they transfer the luggage directly. My guess is they’ll say no. Next thing to do would be to approach Air Asia in BKK once you land, before immigration, and ask them to transfer the luggage to the new flight (showing your tickets/boarding passes of course). This should work 99 out of 100 times. If yes, then you made it, else, get VOA and tick the multiple entry box (if available).

      Worst case, two single entry VOAs.

      Reply
      • Hi Narayan,

        Quick update on our flying thru don mueang to cambodia. (our trip was awesome btw) We tried approaching the air asia folks at chennai airport with our problem. They said they can’t book our luggage thru but suggested exactly your plan B. Which was to approach air asia staff pre-immigration at bkk. We did that but they too said not possible and we have to stand in immigration and get the visa. That’s what we finally ended up doing but thailand had advanced the waive on visa fee to nov 15th so finally it only cost us an hour in the queue and we save the 2000TBH, went land side, picked up our bags and went thru immigration again to board our flight to siam reap. FYI they gave us a one month visa regardless though we stayed only six hours in the airport. Re entry later on nov 30th was fees waived again 🙂
        cheers

        Reply
  15. I am planning a trip of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. I arrive in Bangkok (Thailand) via flight from India and after my stay in Thailand, I plan to fly out to Cambodia (Siem Airport) then fly out to Hanoi (Vietnam). and Finally to India. For Vietnam I have already secured E-Visa through a travel agent but I have question regarding the Thailand and Cambodia visa on arrival process. I was read somewhere that for Thailand visa on arrival, we need to produce return flight tickets which is not possible in my case as i am flying out to a different country (Cambodia) and same goes for Cambodia. Will this itinerary be problem? Could you please advise?

    Reply
    • No Deepak. Please produce all your flight and hotel vouchers at both the Thai as well as Cambodia immigration so that they understand your itinerary and the fact that you are going back to India on a specified date. This will not be a problem as long as you have all your vouchers ready.

      Reply
    • This post is about the Cambodian visa process. Where did you find info on our site regarding Thailand visa on arrival check-points?

      Reply
      • In your Visa on Arrival point no 4. Return confirm flight ticket. If you intend to return by road, do carry a covering letter stating the same with a valid visa of the next country, i.e., Thailand or Vietnam. in this continuation you have mentioned..

        Reply
        • Remember, you cannot get Visa On Arrival in Thailand if travelling overland from Cambodia at the Aranyaprophet Checkpoint. However, if you have a valid visa for Thailand, you can enter Thailand via this checkpoint.

          This is not true buddy. I got visa on arrival in Thailand while coming overland from Cambodia at the mentioned checkpoint.

          Reply
  16. im travelling to cambodia and vietname landing in siem reap do i need prior approval for cambodia visa or just get it on arrival and for vietnam voisa i have got visa letter from vietnam agent is this sufficient

    Reply
    • While you don’t require any prior approval, would recommend that you apply for the Cambodia e-visa since it saves a lot of time.

      Reply
  17. Hello Narayanan
    I dont know if you can help but this is my plan. I will be staying in Surin Thailand and plan to do a border crossing to siem reap cambodia via chong chom (thailand)/o smach (cambodia). I am not sure whether visa on arrival will be issued to me in this border crossing. I would much appreciate advice and help on this thread.

    Reply
  18. Hi Narayanan, I’m Indian Citizen, travelling chennai to bangkok by flight, bangkok to Siem Reap by bus, Phnom Penh to Bangkok by Bus, Bangkok to Chennai by Flight. I will be planning total duration within 10days. I am not sure about Visa for Thailand and Cambodia. Help me, how i can get Visa for Thailand and Cambodia. I will not interested to take multiple entry visa for thailand. I would require your advice and help.

    Reply
    • Hi Shankar, since you will be entering Thailand twice, you don’t have a choice but to take a multi-entry Thai visa (in advance). If you want to skip that, it would make sense to return to India from Phnom Penh instead of doing that bus journey back.

      Also, since you are going by road to Cambodia, you will have to apply for the visa in advance.

      Reply
  19. Hi Narayanan/ Preethika,

    Thanks for sharing information of Visa for Cambodia. We’re planning to go to Cambodia in march. Chennai to Siem Reap onward (through DMK Bangkok) and Sihanoukville to Chennai return (through DMK Bangkok). The flights says its self check in and has the below information.

    “What’s a self-transfer?

    On this flight, you may need to check in separately for each connecting flight. Make sure you have enough time.
    You may need to collect hold bags and check them in again for the next flight.
    You must pass through security and passport control during each connection and you will need a visa if your connection is in a country that requires one.”

    We will be carrying only hand luggage. In spite of that do we still need to get Thai Visa during transit. Can you please help.

    Reply
    • Hi Vikram, as far as I know, you wouldn’t require one. But even if you discover that you do once you land in DMK, you can always get a Thai visa. Thai visa on arrival is free for Indian citizens.

      Reply
      • Thanks for the quick reply. I’ve a few more questions.
        1) Till how long does Thai Visa have waiver for Indians.
        2) So in case i get VOA at Bangkok, should i be returning via same airport and show it while coming back?
        3) If i return via Kuala Lampur, how to plan for transit Visa.

        Reply

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