Your starting point in Cambodia

Moving to Cambodia: Your Arrival & Settling-In Guide

Moving successfully means getting the practical details right: your immigration status, accommodation, money, healthcare and everyday routine.

Use this guide to prepare before departure, organise your first days and avoid commitments you have not properly checked.

Start with your nationality, passport type, purpose of travel and intended length of stay. These determine which requirements apply.

Confirm with a Cambodian embassy or the relevant immigration authority:

• Whether you qualify for visa exemption or need a visa.

• Which visa category matches your plans.

• Whether you can apply online, through an embassy or on arrival.

• Whether your chosen entry point accepts your visa.

• Passport validity and supporting document requirements.

• Conditions for extending your stay or leaving and returning.

Understand three separate things:

An electronic visa and an ordinary E-class visa are not interchangeable terms. Check the actual category on your approval.

Your next action: Record your intended visa category, application route and required documents before booking non-refundable travel.

For applicable air arrivals, Cambodia’s e-Arrival declaration is submitted within the seven days before arrival and is free. Use the official portal and check its current instructions for your journey.

Prepare an offline folder containing:

• Your passport identification page.

• Visa approval or supporting application documents.

• Arrival declaration confirmation.

• Accommodation address and telephone number.

• Flight details and any required onward travel evidence.

• Insurance certificate and emergency assistance number.

• Relevant employment, sponsorship or family documents.

Check your approval for spelling errors, passport number errors, entry conditions and validity dates.

Important: The deadline for using a visa to enter can differ from the length of stay granted after entry.

Your next action: Check every document against your passport, then save copies separately from your phone.

Confirm your arrival airport using your flight booking and airline information. Give your accommodation or driver the exact airport name, flight number and arrival date.

For overland journeys, check that the specific crossing is open and accepts your documents.

Border update — checked 19 October 2026: UK government advice reports that Cambodia–Thailand land crossings remain suspended and advises against all but essential travel within 20km of that land border. Check fresh official updates before planning a crossing or visiting affected areas.

Arrange your first transfer in advance where practical. Confirm the meeting point, total price, vehicle and contact details.

Your next action: Save a backup transport option and your destination’s map pin before departure.

Book initial accommodation that gives you time to inspect longer-term options.

Confirm:

• Check-in arrangements, including late arrivals.

• The full price and deposit.

• Cancellation and early-departure terms.

• Internet access.

• Transport access and nearby essentials.

After arrival:

1. Check your immigration stamp or entry record.

2. Establish your permitted departure date.

3. Set reminders before it expires.

4. Get working mobile data.

5. Locate groceries, a pharmacy and suitable medical care.

6. Tell a trusted person where you are staying.

Cambodia uses the Foreigners Present in Cambodia System (FPCS) for accommodation registration. Ask your hotel or landlord to confirm your registration; different arrangements apply when staying in your own home or with friends or family. Missing registration can affect visa extensions.

Your next action: Confirm your entry deadline and accommodation registration during your first few days.

Start with your routine rather than an attractive property photograph.

Ask yourself:

• Where will I work or study?

• How often will I need specialist healthcare?

• What transport will I use?

• Do I need schools, childcare or accessible facilities?

• How important are quiet evenings and reliable internet?

• How much travel will I need for appointments and administration?

Shortlist neighbourhoods against these needs. Visit during the day and evening, and test the journey you will make most often.

For a smaller town, rural location or island, investigate access to healthcare, supplies and backup connectivity before committing.

Your next action: Compare three locations using the same priorities and total monthly budget.

Check the property itself and the building around it.

Obtain written terms covering rent, deposit, utilities, repairs, notice periods and deductions. If the agreement has multiple languages, clarify which version governs and obtain help understanding it.

Verify that the person collecting payment is authorised to rent the property. Keep receipts, dated photographs and an agreed inventory.

Your next action: Ask for the contract and a sample utility bill before transferring a deposit.

Cambodia’s payment system uses both Khmer riel (KHR) and US dollars (USD). Confirm which currency a price uses before paying.

Build these habits:

• Carry small denominations for everyday purchases.

• Confirm the exchange rate when paying across currencies.

• Check the amount and recipient before approving a digital payment.

• Keep transaction records for deposits and significant purchases.

• Maintain backup cash and a second payment method.

• Check ATM fees and your card issuer’s overseas charges.

Before opening a bank account, ask the bank directly about eligibility, required documents, fees and account restrictions.

Do not assume your overseas banking app can pay every local QR code. Confirm compatibility before relying on it.

Your next action: Test a small withdrawal or payment before moving larger amounts.

A low advertised rent does not tell you the full cost of living.

For employment, confirm your salary currency, payment date, probation terms and included benefits in writing.

Track actual spending during your first month. Use that evidence to adjust your budget before making larger commitments.

Your next action: Keep emergency money separate from your housing deposit and normal spending.

For booked journeys, check the vehicle, driver and destination before getting in. For directly arranged journeys, agree on the price and currency first.

Before renting a car or motorcycle, verify:

• The licence required for the vehicle and your circumstances.

• Insurance cover for the driver and passengers.

• Deposit and damage liability.

• Breakdown and accident procedures.

• Vehicle condition and existing damage.

Photograph the vehicle at collection and return. Do not leave your passport as security for a motorcycle rental.

Road accidents are a significant risk, and travelling after dark increases that risk. Choose transport accordingly.

Your next action: Use booked transport while you establish your licensing, insurance and regular journeys.

Identify a suitable clinic and emergency facility near your accommodation.

Ask your insurer:

• Which facilities it supports.

• Whether treatment requires advance approval.

• Whether you must pay upfront.

• Whether evacuation is covered.

• How pre-existing conditions and prescriptions are handled.

• Whether your planned activities are covered.

Cambodia has mosquito-borne health risks, including dengue and malaria. Obtain travel-health advice for your itinerary and personal circumstances.

If you take medication, confirm import rules, local availability and continuity of prescribing before departure. Carry supporting prescriptions and keep medicines in their original packaging.

Your next action: Save a medical contact, insurer number and medication list offline.

Permission to stay and permission to work are separate matters. Current government guidance identifies both an appropriate visa and a work permit as requirements for employment.

Before starting, ask your employer:

• Which approvals apply.

• Who submits applications.

• Who pays the fees.

• What documents you receive.

• Which renewal dates you must track.

For remote work, freelancing, business ownership or retirement, obtain advice specific to your circumstances. Do not assume an overseas salary removes local immigration or tax questions.

If an agent handles documents, obtain an itemised quote, receipt, submission record and expected return date.

Your next action: Keep one calendar for passport validity, immigration deadlines, permits and renewals.

Phone and bag snatching occur, including from moving motorcycles and open vehicles. Keep valuables away from the roadside and avoid holding your phone outside a vehicle.

Verify employers independently. Official advice warns of fraudulent high-paying job offers linked to trafficking and restricted movement.

Keep to established routes in rural areas because landmines and unexploded ordnance remain a risk. Never handle suspicious objects.

Before making a substantial payment:

• Verify the person or business.

• Confirm what you are buying in writing.

• Check the payment recipient.

• Keep evidence.

• Resist pressure to pay immediately.

Your next action: Enable device tracking and store document backups before an incident occurs.

Before departure

• Confirm your immigration route and entry point.

• Check current travel and border advice.

• Prepare documents and applicable declarations.

• Arrange insurance, initial accommodation and transport.

Within 72 hours

• Confirm your permitted stay.

• Check accommodation registration.

• Establish communication and payment access.

• Locate healthcare and everyday essentials.

During your first week

• Inspect housing and test your commute.

• Confirm employment requirements.

• Collect actual prices for your budget.

• Establish backup connectivity.

Before the end of your first month

• Complete outstanding administrative tasks.

• Review spending and housing suitability.

• Confirm upcoming renewal dates.

• Build a sustainable weekly routine.