Living in Cambodia
Entering Cambodia, remaining there and working are three separate matters. Use these essentials to organise your plans and contact the right authority.
Understand
T is the tourist category; E is the ordinary or business visa. e-Visa means the electronic application channel. For electronic E visas, the official portal lists an initial stay of one month and three months from issue to use the visa.
An extension is requested from immigration after entry, for the accepted purpose of stay. An initial E visa does not guarantee an extension, and the period in which you can use the visa is different from your permitted stay.
Article 261 of the Labour Law requires a work permit and an employment card issued by the ministry responsible for labour. A visa or extension does not replace them; a tourist T visa does not authorise work.
Your plans
The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) handbook, 2023 edition, describes these three purposes. They help explain the names; your application follows the requirements in force when you apply.
EB is the business extension. The CDC describes it for people working in Cambodia, starting a business or freelancing, among others. If joining an employer, start with the planned role and contract; identify who prepares the business approvals and your personal application.
ER is the retirement extension. Prepare a description of your retirement circumstances and resources for your enquiry to immigration. Retirement plans and any professional activity are separate matters to address.
ES is the student extension. Start with the institution: admission, enrolment and the documents it can provide. Immigration handles permission to stay; a possible internship or job also requires a check of permission to work.
Situations to prepare
Prepare a concrete description: your role, business structure, clients and where you perform the work. Address the stay question to immigration and the activity question to MLVT. Having no Cambodian employer does not by itself establish an exemption.
Before fixing your departure date, explain your intended purpose and length of stay to immigration. When you receive an offer, prepare the stay and labour applications with the employer before starting the role.
Next steps
Gather the details of your passport, purpose of stay and professional or study plans. For a job, identify with the employer which steps need to happen before entry and before starting work.
Note when your authorised stay ends. Contact immigration before that date with your current situation and purpose. Obtain a current list of evidence, official fees, submission arrangements and exit/re-entry conditions. Published contact: info@immigration.gov.kh.
Use MLVT and its FWCMS service for labour instructions. With your employer, or by describing your own activity, distinguish business approvals from your personal permit and card. Keep the decisions and their validity dates.
Track stay expiry and labour deadlines separately. Do not assume that submitting an application extends your stay. Overstaying can result in penalties, detention or removal; it is not a way to obtain more time.
Send supporting documents only through an official channel or to a professional whose identity you have checked. The Map collects no passport or application documents for this guide.
Sources
The EB/ER/ES purposes above come from the CDC’s official 2023 handbook. Current age or financial thresholds, exhaustive document lists, extension durations, fees, processing times, quotas and deadlines are not sufficiently established to detail here. EG is not described because a sufficiently readable official source was not available. Specific remote-work and self-employment rules also remain to be established. This page provides a framework for preparation, without confirming individual eligibility.
Continue planning
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