What Is the Cambodia e-Arrival Card? A Plain-English Guide for 2026
The Cambodia e-Arrival Card is a single online form that replaced three paper forms in 2024. Every traveller flying into Cambodia files one in the 7 days before landing, and Immigration scans its QR code on arrival. Here is exactly what it is and how it fits into your trip.
What is the Cambodia e-Arrival Card?
The Cambodia e-Arrival Card is a mandatory online arrival form for travellers flying into Cambodia. It replaced the paper immigration form, health form and customs declaration in 2024. You file it in the 7 days before you land, receive a QR code, and Immigration scans that code at the airport. It is not a visa.
Key Takeaways
- The Cambodia e-Arrival Card, officially the Cambodia e-Arrival (CeA), is one online form that replaced the paper immigration form, health form and customs declaration in 2024.
- Every traveller flying into Cambodia files their own card, and that includes travellers who already hold a visa or do not need one.
- The card can only be submitted in the 7 days before you arrive, and it returns a QR code that Immigration scans when you land.
- The e-Arrival Card is not a visa. It records who you are and how you are travelling; the visa is what gives you permission to enter.
- It is checked at Cambodia’s three international airports: Techo International (KTI) in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap Angkor International (SAI) and Sihanoukville International (KOS).
The Cambodia e-Arrival Card in one paragraph
If you are flying into Cambodia, you will be asked for a Cambodia e-Arrival Card before you reach the immigration desk. It is the digital version of the arrival paperwork that used to be handed out on the plane: one online form, filed before you travel, that tells Cambodian Immigration who you are, how you are arriving and what you are bringing with you. The official name is the Cambodia e-Arrival, often shortened to CeA, and most travellers simply call it the e-Arrival Card.
The idea is simple. Instead of filling in three separate paper forms with a borrowed pen in the last hour of a long flight, you complete one form online in the days before you go. The system checks it, returns a QR code, and that code is what the officer scans when you land. The paperwork is done before you board, so the arrival itself is quicker.
Quick definition: the Cambodia e-Arrival Card is a free-standing arrival declaration, filed online in the 7 days before you land, that combines Cambodia’s immigration card, health declaration and customs declaration into a single form with a single QR code.
What did the e-Arrival Card replace?
Before 2024, arriving in Cambodia meant three pieces of paper: an immigration arrival card, a health form and a customs declaration. The Cambodia e-Arrival replaced all three with one portal. The system was first announced for the new Siem Reap Angkor International Airport, which opened in late 2023, and it became mandatory for arriving travellers in 2024.
The practical upshot is that there is no separate customs form to fill in after you collect your bags, and no health slip to hand over. Everything Cambodia used to collect on paper at the border is collected once, online, before you travel.
Who needs a Cambodia e-Arrival Card?
Every traveller flying into Cambodia needs one. That covers tourists, business travellers, people visiting family and people returning for a second or third trip. It does not depend on your nationality, and it does not depend on your visa: Cambodia’s own guidance is that all travellers must complete the e-Arrival even if they have already been granted a visa.
- Travellers with a Cambodia eVisa need one. The visa and the arrival card are two separate steps.
- Travellers who plan to get a visa on arrival need one. The card is filed before you fly, and the visa is dealt with at the airport.
- Visa-exempt travellers, such as citizens of most ASEAN countries, still need one, because the card is not a visa.
- Each person in a group files their own card, children included. There is no single card that covers a whole family.
If you are travelling with children, our guide to the e-Arrival Card for families covers how to file one card per person in a single sitting.
What about land and sea arrivals?
The e-Arrival system is built around air travel. The official system lists Cambodia’s three international airports as its checkpoints, and travellers crossing overland have reported completing paper arrival forms at the border post instead. Rules at land and sea crossings are less clearly published than at airports, so we cover them separately in our guide to the e-Arrival Card at land and sea borders.
What information does the e-Arrival Card ask for?
The form is short, but every answer has to match your documents exactly, because Immigration compares what you submit with your passport and your flight. The questions fall into four groups.
New in 2026: the form now also asks for the date you plan to leave Cambodia and where you are going next. If you have an onward flight or a return ticket, have it to hand before you start. Not booked yet? When we file for you, you can tell us so, and we will email you to add the details.
For the full checklist of what to have in front of you, see our guide to Cambodia e-Arrival Card requirements.
How the e-Arrival Card works, from filing to landing
- Wait for the 7-day window
The card can only be submitted within the 7 days before your arrival date. Anything earlier is not accepted.
- Complete the form
Enter your passport, travel, accommodation, health and customs details, copying names and numbers exactly from your passport.
- Receive your QR code
A successful submission returns a QR code. Screenshot it, download it or print it before you close the page.
- Show the QR code on arrival
At the airport, Immigration scans the code to pull up your declaration, alongside your passport and visa.
Two newer pieces of the arrival process sit on top of the e-Arrival Card. At Techo International Airport in Phnom Penh, eligible passport holders can use automated smart gates. And Cambodia now issues arriving visitors a v-Pass by email, which replaces the ink stamp that used to go in your passport. Both build on the information you submitted in your e-Arrival Card.
If you want to know exactly where the card is checked and what to have ready at the desk, our guide to where the Cambodia e-Arrival Card is checked walks through each airport.
Is the e-Arrival Card a visa?
No. This is the most common misunderstanding about the card, and it is worth being clear about. The e-Arrival Card is a declaration: it tells Immigration who is arriving and how. A visa is permission: it is what allows you to enter and stay. Cambodia’s own guidance states plainly that the e-Arrival is not a visa, and that travellers who already have a visa must still complete it.
Most travellers need both. If you are not sure whether your passport needs a visa at all, the eligibility checker gives you the answer for your nationality in a few seconds.
We go through the differences in detail, including which to do first, in our guide to the e-Arrival Card vs the Cambodia eVisa.
How to get your e-Arrival Card sorted
Because the card only opens 7 days before you land, the main risk is not difficulty but timing: it is easy to forget in the last busy week before a trip, or to leave it until the airport. The second risk is small mismatches, such as a middle name left out or a date typed in the wrong order, which can mean a slower conversation at the immigration desk.
We file the Cambodia e-Arrival Card for you and check every detail against your passport before it is submitted. You can book at any time: if your trip is more than a week away, we keep your details and file the moment the window opens, then email you the QR code.
Every speed includes free resubmission if Immigration flags a correction, so a problem found after filing is fixed without a second fee.
If your trip is booked and you have your passport to hand, you can apply online here and be done in a few minutes.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Cambodia e-Arrival Card?
It is a mandatory online arrival form for travellers flying into Cambodia. You file it in the 7 days before landing, receive a QR code, and Immigration scans that code at the airport. It replaced the paper immigration, health and customs forms in 2024.
Is the Cambodia e-Arrival Card a visa?
No. The e-Arrival Card is an arrival declaration, not permission to enter. If your nationality needs a visa, you need the visa as well as the e-Arrival Card.
Do I need the e-Arrival Card if I already have a Cambodia eVisa?
Yes. Cambodia requires all travellers to complete the e-Arrival even if they have already been granted a visa. The eVisa and the e-Arrival Card are two separate steps.
When can I submit the Cambodia e-Arrival Card?
Within the 7 days before your arrival date. The form does not accept submissions earlier than that, so it is always the last step of your preparation.
Does every family member need their own e-Arrival Card?
Yes. Each traveller files their own card under their own passport, children included. There is no single card that covers a whole group.
What does the e-Arrival Card replace?
It replaced three paper forms: the immigration arrival card, the health form and the customs declaration. All three are now covered by one online form.
Which airports check the Cambodia e-Arrival Card?
Cambodia’s three international airports: Techo International in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap Angkor International and Sihanoukville International.
Sources
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