Last updated: November 5, 2026 · By Wander Cambodia
By Sophea Khim · Host & Editor, Wander CambodiaYes — if you are flying into Cambodia, you have to fill in the e-Arrival card before you land. The Cambodia e-Arrival card (CeA) is a free, mandatory digital arrival form for air arrivals, in force since July 1, 2024. Complete it at arrival.gov.kh or in the official Cambodia e-Arrival app within 7 days before you arrive, and keep the QR code it gives you. It is not a visa and it never costs anything — your visa is separate: $30 for a tourist eVisa or $35 for an Ordinary (Type E) eVisa. Land and sea arrivals still use paper forms.
This is the question that causes more airport confusion than any other in Cambodia right now, because three similar-sounding things — eVisa, visa on arrival and e-Arrival — all happen in the same hour of your trip. This page answers the e-Arrival part on its own. For the three-way comparison, see eVisa vs visa on arrival vs e-Arrival; for the full form walkthrough, see our step-by-step e-Arrival card guide.
The e-Arrival card is the digital replacement for the paper arrival card airlines used to hand out before landing. It collects the same things that card always did: your passport details, your flight, the address of your first night in Cambodia, and short customs and health declarations. Cambodia made it mandatory for air arrivals on July 1, 2024, and the paper card disappeared from flights at the same time.
Two facts settle most of the confusion. First, it is free — the official site is arrival.gov.kh and the official app is the Cambodia e-Arrival app; any website charging a fee to "process" your arrival card is a middleman selling you a free form. Second, it grants you nothing: it does not extend your stay, replace your visa, or guarantee entry. It is paperwork, done early so the arrival hall moves faster.
The form only opens within 7 days before your arrival date. Try to be organised three weeks out and the system will not take your submission — that rejection is the single most common reason travellers conclude the site is broken. Set a reminder for the week you fly, do it once your first hotel is booked (you need that address), and save the QR code to your phone's photos as well as your email. Connections at the arrival hall are not the moment to discover a login screen.
Think of your arrival as three separate layers. Layer one is permission: a visa — applied for online at evisa.gov.kh ($30 tourist / $35 Ordinary) or bought on arrival for the same prices in cash. Layer two is declaration: the e-Arrival card on this page, free and done before you fly. Layer three is the record: since July 2025 your entry is logged digitally as a v-Pass instead of a passport stamp, issued automatically when an officer clears you. None of the three replaces another, and our official eVisa walkthrough shows the visa layer with the same official-sites-only rule.
If you are crossing overland — the busy Bavet crossing from Vietnam on the Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City route, or Tropaeng Kreal from Laos — there is no e-Arrival step: you fill in paper forms at the checkpoint, as travellers always have. One route no longer exists at all: the Thailand land borders have been closed since June 2025, which our border status page tracks — Thailand to Cambodia is a flight, and a flight means the e-Arrival card applies.
Rules checked against arrival.gov.kh guidance in November 2026. The e-Arrival card is free; if a site asks you to pay for it, close the tab and use the official site or app.
Yes, if you are flying in. The Cambodia e-Arrival card (CeA) is a free, mandatory digital arrival form for air arrivals, in force since July 1, 2024. You complete it at arrival.gov.kh or in the official Cambodia e-Arrival app within 7 days before you arrive, and you receive a QR code to show on arrival. It replaces the paper arrival card on flights — it is not a visa and it costs nothing.
No. They are two separate requirements. The visa gives you permission to enter — a tourist eVisa costs $30 and an Ordinary (Type E) eVisa costs $35 at evisa.gov.kh, or the same prices on arrival. The e-Arrival card is simply your arrival declaration: who you are, where you are staying, and your customs and health answers. You need both when you fly in.
Within 7 days before your arrival date — the form will not accept submissions earlier than that window. Most travellers do it two or three days before flying, once the hotel address for the first night is confirmed. Keep the QR code saved or screenshotted; you show it after landing.
No. The e-Arrival requirement applies to air arrivals. Travellers entering at a land border — for example Bavet from Vietnam or Tropaeng Kreal from Laos — still complete the paper forms at the checkpoint. Thailand's land borders with Cambodia have been closed since June 2025, so that route is fly-only in any case.
You will be directed to complete the form on arrival using airport facilities or your own phone before you clear the arrival process, which adds time at the end of a long flight. Nothing about it is a fine or a refusal — it is a queue you can simply avoid by doing the free form inside the 7-day window before you fly.
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