As part of our preparations for an upcoming Cambodia trip, we had filled in our e-visa applications online. E-visas are a great way to save time on entry and certainly beat the old system of having to mail in your passport and wait or go and wait in line at the embassy. Hurray for technology, but when should I apply for an e-visa for Cambodia?
Well, two weeks had gone by and despite the note on the website saying we should expect our Cambodian e-visas in three business days we were yet to receive any notice. Googling online we found the travel forums filled with stories of anxious travelers considering contesting their credit card charges, sending duplicate requests, or frantically trying to contact the embassy. Some got e-visas in days, others in weeks or months and there seemed to be no rhyme or reason.
After contacting the Cambodian visa center, we were told that Cambodian e-visas were only valid for three months from the date of issue. In effect, the embassy was holding off processing our applications until two months before our entry date to ensure they would be valid for our dates of visit. While some e-visas allow for the specifying of an entry date with a typical visa validity period of three months, the Cambodian visas are valid from the day of issuance so they can’t approve them too far in advance of your trip.
So, if you are like us and anxiously awaiting your Cambodian e-visa, don’t worry if you are more than two months in advance of your travel dates.
Finally, some clarity on the timing of Cambodian e-visa application processing.