To visit Cambodia, Russian citizens need a national visa, which can be obtained in advance via the Internet, at the consular section of the Embassy of Cambodia in Russia, or directly at passport control upon arrival. Document requirements are minimal: a valid passport, photo and visa fee of 30 USD, plus a questionnaire if you get a visa at the consulate. At the airport, you can also get a visa for a record period in world practice – 12 months! Another positive point: having a rest in Cambodia, you can go to Thailand – there is an agreement on a simplified visa regime between the countries.
Note: according to allcitypopulation, the population of Cambodia is 16.95 million (2021).
Since November 21, 2012, an agreement has been in force between Thailand and Cambodia, according to which one can stay on the territory of one of the countries on the visa of another country, but the period of stay should not exceed the total validity of the visa. At the same time, the entry stamp affixed by the Thai border guards in the case when an entry visa to the country is not required is not a basis for visa-free entry into Cambodia.
Documents for a visa to Cambodia
Required documents for obtaining a tourist visa:
- international passport
The validity of which covers the duration of the trip;
- photography
three photographs 4×6 or 3×4 cm.
- Questionnaire
Must be completed in Russian or English.
Consular fee – 30 USD, visa processing time – 1 working day.
Documents are accepted from Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 13:00, visas are issued from 14:00 to 17:00.
In addition, you should definitely take out a medical insurance policy for the entire duration of the trip. Let it be better not to be useful than to be left without qualified assistance in case of an accident.
Applying for a visa at the airport
A tourist visa to Cambodia for a period of one month can be issued directly upon arrival at the airports of Phnom Penh, Siam Reap, Sihanoukville, or at any border checkpoint with neighboring states (excluding the border with Laos, where visas are not issued at the entrance). To do this, you must submit a valid passport, one passport-size photo and pay a visa fee of 30 USD. If you do not have a photo, the immigration officer offers to pay a “fine” in the amount of 1-3 USD (of course, you are not given a receipt for payment), and you will still receive a visa even without a photo.
Visa processing takes no more than 5-20 minutes, depending on the number of tourists. Also at the airport, under the same conditions, you can get a business visa for a longer period (from 3 to 12 months, visa fee from 40 to 300 USD, depending on the length of stay). Often, representatives of the customs authorities require a medical card to be presented during registration. This requirement is illegal, so it can be safely ignored (there is information that at the land borders, in the absence of a medical card, they give out some kind of pills and demand 200 KHR “for treatment”). In any case, you should act according to the circumstances, and if the requirements of the border guards begin to go beyond the correct ones, then sometimes it is easier to pay a small amount than to risk missing your bus.
A tourist visa to Cambodia for a period of one month can be issued directly upon arrival at the airport.
Applying for a visa online
It is possible to apply for a visa to Cambodia via the Internet. The so-called “electronic visas” (e-visa) can be obtained within three working days by filling out a form on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cambodia and paying a visa fee of 35 USD(payment by credit card). You will also need a scanned passport photo. E-visa is valid for three months from the date of issue; it allows you to stay in Cambodia for up to one month. However, entry with e-visas is currently limited to Siam Reap and Phnom Penh airports only. In addition, there were failures in the system for issuing visas via the Internet – tourists arrived in the country with a printout of paying for a visa via the Internet, but they were told that for some reason the visa was not in the database and they should pay again. It is difficult to say whether the system for issuing visas via the Internet does not work well, but many ended up having to pay twice.
It is possible to extend the visa for one month on the spot. To do this, you must contact the local Immigration Service and pay a fee of 45 USD.