T, E, EB, ER, EG, ES — Cambodia's visa alphabet looks intimidating, but for almost every traveler the whole thing comes down to one choice you make before you arrive. Get that one choice right and everything else is paperwork. Here's the simple version.
Last updated: October 19, 2026
Short trip = Tourist. Any chance of staying = Ordinary. That's the whole decision.
The Tourist visa (T) costs $30 and suits a pure holiday. The Ordinary visa (E) costs $35 and is the one that can turn into a long stay — work, retirement, or just not leaving yet. Both give you 30 days when you arrive, and both are available as an eVisa or on arrival. The letters after E (EB, ER, EG, ES) are extensions you add after you arrive — you never apply for them at the airport.
When you apply for a Cambodia visa — online or at the arrivals counter — you're really only picking between two entry visas: Tourist (T) and Ordinary (E). Everything else you've seen mentioned (EB, ER, EG, ES) is an extension of the Ordinary visa, added later from inside Cambodia.
Why does the entry choice matter so much? Because a Tourist visa can never be converted into a long-stay visa once you're in the country. If you arrive on a T and fall in love with the place — and people do — your only fix is to leave Cambodia and come back in on an Ordinary visa. Five extra dollars at the start saves you that whole headache.
The Tourist visa is the straightforward holiday visa:
Pick the Tourist visa if your trip is a holiday with a firm end date — Angkor, the islands, home again. It's cheaper, it's simple, and for a fixed trip it's all you need.
The Ordinary visa (sometimes called the "business" or E-class visa) starts out looking identical to the Tourist visa: $35, 30 days on arrival, available as an eVisa or on arrival. The difference is what it lets you do next.
Once you're in Cambodia on an E, you can add an Extension of Stay (EOS) of 1, 3, 6 or 12 months — and renew it again as each one runs out. There are four EOS types, matched to what you're doing here:
You don't choose an EOS type at the airport and you don't need a job, a school or retirement paperwork lined up before you fly — you arrive on the plain E visa and pick the extension that fits once you're here. Our visa extension guide has the real agent prices for every length and type.
| Tourist (T) | Ordinary (E) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $30 | $35 |
| Stay on arrival | 30 days | 30 days |
| Extendable | Once, by 1 month | Yes — 1, 3, 6 or 12 months at a time |
| Convertible to a long stay | No — never | Yes — that's the whole point |
| Best for | A pure holiday with fixed dates | Anyone who might stay, work or retire |
Look at that table and the decision makes itself: the Ordinary visa is the Tourist visa plus options, for five dollars more. The only reason to pick T is being completely sure your trip ends within a month or two.
Whichever type you choose, the process is the same. Both the Tourist and Ordinary visas are available as an eVisa before you fly — apply on the official site, evisa.gov.kh, ideally at least a week ahead — or as a visa on arrival at Cambodia's international airports. Same price, same 30 days, same sticker; the only difference is the class printed on it. On the eVisa application, the visa class is a simple dropdown choice, and on arrival it's a box on the form — which is exactly why this mistake happens so often: people tick "Tourist" out of habit without realizing the choice can't be undone later. Our step-by-step eVisa guide shows the official process and how to avoid the $80 reseller sites.
Cambodia's visa list has a few more categories — A and B visas for diplomats and officials, C courtesy visas, the K visa for people of Cambodian descent who hold a foreign passport, and transit visas for passing through. Travelers almost never need any of these, and you can't accidentally apply for one: if you're a regular visitor, you're choosing between T and E, full stop.
The Tourist (T) visa is fine — $30, 30 days, done. The one exception: if there's any real chance the trip stretches — you might keep traveling, volunteer, or look for work — arrive on the Ordinary (E) instead. Keeping your options open costs $5.
No — and this is the single most common Cambodia visa mistake. A T visa can never be converted inside the country. The only fix is to leave Cambodia and re-enter on an Ordinary (E) visa. If you think you might stay, save yourself the border run and arrive on the E in the first place.
If there's even a 10% chance you'll want to stay longer than your first month or two — yes, absolutely. That $5 is the difference between extending your visa at an agent's office in town and having to fly out of the country and back just to change visa types.
The Ordinary (E) visa. There's no "retirement visa" to apply for from home — you arrive on the E, then add the ER (retirement) extension once you're here. Our Stay Longer section covers the ER extension, what it costs, and how the process works.
Yes, if you're arriving by air — it's a separate, free arrival form that every air traveler submits within 7 days before landing, on top of the visa. Our e-Arrival guide walks through it step by step.
No — Cambodia has no dedicated digital-nomad visa. In practice, remote workers typically enter on the Ordinary (E) visa and stay on EG or EB extensions. If that's your plan, arriving on the E is step one.
Decision made? Head to our eVisa guide for the official walkthrough — or browse the Plan Your Trip hub for arrival, money and packing guides. And if you're still deciding how long Cambodia gets you for, the 30-second before-you-go checklist on our homepage is a good place to start.
One short email a week with what actually changed on the ground — no fluff, no spam.
Free forever · One email a week · Unsubscribe anytime
Visa rule changes, the best travel deals we find, and new guides — once a week, no spam.
Free forever · Unsubscribe anytime
Wander Cambodia