Wei Chen
Every traveler arriving in Cambodia by air must submit the free Cambodia e-Arrival form within seven days before arrival, through the official website arrival.gov.kh or the official Cambodia e-Arrival app, and show the resulting QR code on landing. The single digital form replaced three paper documents: the immigration arrival form, the health declaration, and the customs declaration. It is not a visa, and it does not replace one.
Quick Facts: Cambodia e-Arrival at a Glance
- What it is: The Cambodia e-Arrival Card, a free digital form covering immigration, health, and customs declarations in one submission.
- Who files: All travelers arriving in Cambodia by air, regardless of nationality or visa type.
- When to file: Within seven days before arrival. Earlier submission is not possible.
- Official channels: The website arrival.gov.kh and the official Cambodia e-Arrival mobile app for iOS and Android.
- Cost: Free on the official channels. The card itself carries no government fee.
- Output: A QR code to save and present on arrival.
- What it is not: It is not a visa. Visa rules, including the separate eVisa at evisa.gov.kh, still apply by nationality.
- Last checked: November 11, 2026, against Cambodia General Department of Immigration guidance on arrival.gov.kh.
What Did the e-Arrival Replace?
For years, landing in Cambodia meant a small stack of paper: an arrival and departure card handed out on the plane, a separate health declaration, and a customs form, all completed with a borrowed pen while the seatbelt sign was on. The e-Arrival system, introduced in 2024 and made the standard route for air arrivals, folds all three into one digital submission made before departure. Travelers enter personal and passport details, flight information, health answers, and customs declarations in a single flow, then receive a QR code that immigration officers scan on arrival.
The change is more than cosmetic. Pre-submitted data speeds up the arrival hall, reduces the scramble for forms on board, and gives travelers a calmer job to do at home, where passport numbers can be copied carefully, instead of at a crowded desk. It also follows a regional pattern. Thailand runs a comparable pre-arrival system, covered in our guide to the Thailand Digital Arrival Card, and travelers touring Southeast Asia should now expect a digital arrival step for most countries on the itinerary, each on its own official portal and its own timetable.
Who Needs the Cambodia e-Arrival, and Where Does It Apply?
The requirement covers travelers arriving by air at Cambodia international airports, including Phnom Penh and Siem Reap Angkor. It applies whether the traveler is visa exempt, holds an eVisa, or plans to use a visa on arrival where available, and it applies to each person individually, including children. The visa question and the arrival card question are parallel tracks: both must be satisfied, and completing one does nothing for the other.
Land borders are the important exception to understand. The e-Arrival system is an air arrival system. Travelers entering Cambodia overland, for example from Thailand or Vietnam, have historically completed paper forms at the crossing, and the digital system has been rolled out around the airports. Overland travelers should check the current position on arrival.gov.kh before travel rather than assuming the app covers their crossing, and should be ready for paper processing at the border post itself.
How Does the Seven-Day Window Work?
The form can be submitted within seven days before the arrival date, and not earlier. That window is wider than Malaysia three-day MDAC window or Thailand equivalent, which makes Cambodia the form to file first on a multi-country trip, but it still cannot be done weeks ahead when flights are booked. The sensible routine is to calendar the task for the week of departure, file once flight details are final, and save the QR code in more than one place: in the app or account, as a screenshot, and ideally in an email to a travel companion.
What if the flight changes inside the window?
If the arrival date or flight changes after submission, the record no longer describes the actual arrival. Submit accurate information for the corrected trip rather than presenting a QR code tied to a different flight. The form is free and quick, so accuracy costs little, while a mismatch costs time at the desk.
How to Submit the e-Arrival, Step by Step
Step 1: Choose the website or the app, and check it is official
The two official routes are arrival.gov.kh in a browser and the official Cambodia e-Arrival app in the iOS and Android stores. The .gov.kh domain is the marker of the Cambodian government site. Commercial lookalikes charge fees for this free form, sometimes substantial ones, so verify the domain before entering passport data or payment details. The official card never requires payment.
Step 2: Enter traveler and passport details
The form asks for personal information, nationality, passport number and expiry, and contact details. Copy from the passport itself rather than memory, and use the name order shown in the machine-readable zone if there is any doubt. Each traveler files individually, so families should allow time to complete one submission per person.
Step 3: Add flight and stay information
Enter the arriving flight, arrival date, and address in Cambodia, normally the first hotel. Travelers heading straight from Siem Reap airport to the temples can still use their hotel address: the point is a reachable first base, not a full itinerary.
Step 4: Complete the health and customs declarations
This is where the e-Arrival earns its keep, because the health questions and the customs declaration that used to be separate paper forms sit inside the same submission. Answer them directly and honestly. Travelers carrying goods that need declaring should declare them here rather than treating the digital form as a formality, since this submission is the customs record.
Step 5: Submit and save the QR code
On submission the system issues a QR code. Save it offline. Airport Wi-Fi and roaming data are unreliable exactly when they are needed, and a screenshot in the phone photo library works without any connection. Some travelers also print a copy as a backup, which is cheap insurance for a phone with a failing battery after a long flight.
e-Arrival Is Not a Visa: The Separate eVisa Track
The most persistent confusion around the system is the name. An approved e-Arrival QR code says nothing about permission to enter or stay. Many nationalities need a visa for Cambodia, arranged either in advance through the official eVisa portal at evisa.gov.kh, which charges its own government fee set by the Cambodian authorities, or on arrival where that facility exists for their nationality. Others are visa exempt for short stays. In every case the e-Arrival is also required for air arrivals. Travelers should settle the visa question first, weeks ahead if an eVisa is needed, and treat the e-Arrival as the final-week task.
That sequencing matters for the classic Cambodia trip that pairs the capital with Angkor. Our guide to Song Saa Private Island covers the coastal splurge end of a Cambodia itinerary, and temple-focused travelers will build around Siem Reap instead. Either way, the entry paperwork rhythm is identical: visa early, e-Arrival inside seven days, QR code saved offline.
Common Mistakes With the Cambodia e-Arrival
Paying for the free form is the costliest mistake, and it happens because search advertisements for resellers look official. The second mistake is timing: trying to file a month ahead, failing, and then forgetting entirely during the actual window. The third is treating the e-Arrival as a visa and arriving without one. The fourth is filing for only the lead traveler when a group is traveling: the submission is per person. The fifth is relying on airport connectivity to retrieve the QR code. All five are avoided by the same habits: official domain, calendar reminder for the seven-day window, visa checked separately, one form per traveler, QR code saved offline.
What Happens on Arrival in Cambodia?
On landing, travelers present their passport, visa or exemption status, and the e-Arrival QR code for scanning. Because immigration, health, and customs information was submitted in advance, the desk process is shorter than the old paper routine, and there are no forms to complete in the hall for those who filed. Travelers who arrive without a filing should expect to be directed to complete the process on arrival, with the delay that implies. Keep the passport used for the submission in hand luggage, since the record is tied to that document: traveling on a renewed passport after filing on the old one is a mismatch to fix before departure, not at the desk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Cambodia e-Arrival a visa?
No. It is an arrival declaration covering immigration, health, and customs information. Visa requirements are separate, depend on nationality, and are handled through the official eVisa portal at evisa.gov.kh or on arrival where available.
How far in advance can the e-Arrival be submitted?
Within seven days before arrival, and not earlier. File during the week of departure once flight details are final, and save the QR code offline.
Is the Cambodia e-Arrival free?
Yes, on the official channels: arrival.gov.kh and the official Cambodia e-Arrival app. Any site charging a fee for the card itself is a commercial reseller, not the government portal.
Does the e-Arrival apply at land borders?
The system is built for air arrivals at Cambodia international airports. Land crossings have used paper forms, so overland travelers should check arrival.gov.kh for the current position and be prepared for paper processing at the border.
What does the e-Arrival replace?
It replaces three paper documents in one digital submission: the immigration arrival form, the health declaration, and the customs declaration.
What should be done with the QR code?
Save it in several places, including an offline screenshot, and present it with the passport on arrival. The code is the proof that the immigration, health, and customs information was submitted in advance.
