Cambodia 12-Month Visa Extension for Australians: 2026 Long-Stay Pathway Guide
The 12-month Business eVisa extension is the longest commitment-level Cambodia stay Aussies can buy in-country. ~$300–400 USD (~$457–609 AUD) through a Phnom Penh agent on top of the $90 USD (~$137 AUD) Business eVisa, 7–14 business days. Best per-month rate of any extension — but only worth it if you genuinely plan to use the back half of the year.
Can Australians get a 12-month Cambodia visa extension?
Yes — but only on the Business eVisa (E-Class). The 12-month extension is the longest the Cambodian immigration agent network offers Australians. Costs ~$300–400 USD (~$457–609 AUD) through an agent on top of your original $90 USD (~$137 AUD) Business eVisa. Processed in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, 7–14 business days. Recommended only if you genuinely plan to be in Cambodia for the full 12 months — for shorter committed stays, 3-month or 6-month extensions are better value per month (~$30 USD/month vs ~$30–33 USD/month for 12-month).
Key Takeaways
- The 12-month extension is only available on the Cambodia Business eVisa (E-Class) — the Tourist eVisa is a hard 30-day stay with no extension path since November 2025.
- It is the longest in-country extension Aussies can buy in a single lodgement: agent fees sit at roughly $300–400 USD (~$457–609 AUD) on top of the $90 USD (~$137 AUD) Business eVisa.
- Per-month effective rate is ~$25–33 USD/month — the cheapest of the four extension lengths, but only if you actually use the back half of the year.
- Single-entry is the default and the right pick for genuine year-long stays; multi-entry adds $30–50 USD (~$46–76 AUD) and only pays off if you will leave Cambodia at least once.
- For committed stays under 9 months, the 6-month extension at ~$30–35 USD/month is better value — only commit to 12 months when you are honestly settling in.
Why the 12-month extension matters for committed Aussie long-stayers
The 12-month extension is the longest commitment-level Cambodia stay you can buy in a single lodgement — a full year of legal residence on top of your initial 30-day Business eVisa entry, signed off in one trip to a Phnom Penh immigration agent. No annual renewal interview, no in-person Immigration counter visit, no sponsor letter. For Aussies who have honestly settled on Cambodia for the medium term, it is the cleanest long-stay paperwork in the region.
It is also the extension length most often picked for the wrong reasons. Aussies hear about the per-month rate, see that 12 months works out cheaper per month than 3 or 6, and book it on instinct. Eight months in, they are flying home for a family wedding and discovering the single-entry stamp they bought has burnt on exit. Or they are leaving Cambodia four months early after wet season tested their tolerance, having paid for eight months they will never use. The 12-month is the right call when you are genuinely committed — and an expensive mistake when you are not.
This is the long-stay pathway guide for Australians on the 12-month Cambodia Business eVisa extension in 2026. If you have not yet booked the underlying visa, the Cambodia Business visa for Australians anchor walks through the upfront application, the Do Australians Need a Visa for Cambodia pillar covers the wider eligibility picture, and the Cambodia Business visa extensions guide sits one level above this one with the full 1/3/6/12-month decision tree.
The 12-month extension at a glance
The mechanics are identical to the other extension lengths — only the duration, the fee, and the commitment threshold change. You enter Cambodia on the Business eVisa (E-Class), which gives you a 30-day initial stay. Inside the first two weeks, you visit a Cambodian immigration agent in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, hand over your passport, a passport-style photo, your accommodation address, and the agent fee in USD cash. The agent lodges the 12-month extension with the General Department of Immigration, holds your passport for 7–14 business days while the stamp is processed, and returns it with a full year of legal residence inside.
You do not deal with the Immigration counter yourself. There is no separate application form for the 12-month length — it is the same paperwork as the 1, 3, or 6-month, with a different box ticked. Once the stamp is in, the year is yours: no monthly check-ins, no quarterly renewals, no in-person Immigration visits, no annual interview. You can live, work remotely, lease an apartment, and travel domestically across all 25 Cambodian provinces on the same single document until the stamp expires.
Single-entry vs multi-entry 12-month
Both forms of the 12-month extension are available through any reputable Phnom Penh agent. Single-entry is the default and the right pick if you genuinely plan to stay inside Cambodia for the full year. Multi-entry adds roughly $30–50 USD (~$46–76 AUD) on top of the base fee — a flat addition, not a percentage of the base — and lets you exit Cambodia and re-enter on the same extension stamp as many times as you like across the 12 months. On a 12-month extension the multi-entry premium works out at well under 15% of the total cost, making it the best-value length to add multi-entry to. The honest framing: if there is any real chance you will leave Cambodia even once during the year — a wedding back in Sydney, a regional holiday to Bali or Bangkok, a board meeting in Singapore — the multi-entry premium pays for itself the first time you re-enter and avoids needing to buy a fresh $90 USD (~$137 AUD) Business eVisa.
Per-month value vs shorter extensions
Run the per-month maths across the four extension lengths and the 12-month is on paper the cheapest at ~$25–33 USD/month, edging out the 6-month at ~$30–40 USD/month and the 3-month at ~$33–50 USD/month. The catch is that per-month rate only applies if you actually use the full 12 months. Pay $400 USD (~$609 AUD) for a year, leave Cambodia after 8 months because the wet season was harder than expected, and your effective rate is $50 USD/month (~$76 AUD/month) — worse than if you had simply bought a 6-month extension upfront with the option to renew. The 12-month wins on per-month rate only when the commitment is real. That is the single most important framing for Aussies weighing it against shorter lengths.
Worked example: the Aussie 12-month commitment scenarios
Three honest worked scenarios from the three most common Aussie 12-month cases we see. Numbers are 2026 indicative pricing — the Business eVisa is $90 USD (~$137 AUD) all-in through us, the extension fees are mid-range Phnom Penh agent quotes.
Scenario one — Adelaide retiree on a 12-month Kampot reconnaissance. He has done two scoping trips on Tourist eVisas and now wants a full year living in Kampot before deciding whether to relocate permanently. Books the Business eVisa at $90 USD (~$137 AUD), flies in February, lodges a 12-month single-entry extension at $350 USD (~$533 AUD) through a BKK1 agent during his first week in Phnom Penh. Total Year One visa cost: $90 + $350 = $440 USD (~$670 AUD) for a full year of legal residence. No leaving Cambodia planned, so single-entry is the correct call. He uses the back half of the year living through wet season, decides Kampot is genuinely the move, and lodges a second 12-month extension at renewal time.
Scenario two — Sydney digital nomad on a 12-month Phnom Penh build. She is a senior product designer working remotely on a one-year contract for a US startup, has chosen BKK1 as her base, and expects to fly home to Sydney twice — once for her sister's wedding in month four, once for Christmas in month nine. Lodges a 12-month multi-entry extension at $390 USD (~$594 AUD) — that is $350 base + $40 multi-entry premium. Total Year One visa cost: $90 + $390 = $480 USD (~$731 AUD). She uses both Sydney trips cleanly inside the multi-entry, comes back in twice without needing to buy a fresh Business eVisa. The multi-entry premium of $40 USD (~$61 AUD) beats two fresh $90 USD Business eVisas by $140 USD (~$213 AUD).
Scenario three — Brisbane mechanical engineer on a 12-month Sihanoukville contract. He has been hired by a Cambodian-Chinese joint venture to oversee a logistics facility commissioning, with monthly trips back to Brisbane for project reviews. Lodges a 12-month multi-entry extension at $400 USD (~$609 AUD) — that is $360 base + $40 multi-entry premium. Total Year One visa cost: $90 + $400 = $490 USD (~$746 AUD). With 11 round trips back to Australia across the year, the multi-entry premium pays for itself on the first trip out and saves him over $900 USD (~$1,370 AUD) compared with fresh Business eVisas on each re-entry.
Application logistics with a Phnom Penh agent
The 12-month lodgement is the same single walk-in visit as the shorter extension lengths — only the agreed fee, the box ticked on the application, and the commitment level change. Knowing what the walk-in looks like in advance saves Aussies from being caught off-guard at the agent's office.
Timing. The 12-month extension is best lodged inside the first two weeks of your initial 30-day Business eVisa stay. That gives the agent the full 7–14 business days they need before your initial stay expires, with a buffer if anything slips at Immigration's end. Lodging later — in week three or four — risks the stamp landing after your initial 30 days have expired, which technically puts you in overstay territory. The overstay penalty is approximately $10 USD (~$15 AUD) per day at the airport on exit, and is noted on your immigration record. Two weeks margin is the operational minimum we recommend.
Documents. Your physical passport with the Business eVisa stamp inside, a recent passport-style photo (4cm x 6cm is the Cambodian Immigration standard), your current Phnom Penh accommodation address (a copy of your apartment lease is fine, a hotel booking confirmation works for short-stay cases), and the agent fee in USD cash. Some agents will also ask for a photocopy of your eVisa approval letter — bring a print of the original PDF approval just in case. The agent photocopies your passport's photo page and entry stamp, takes the photograph if you did not bring one, and walks you through the one-page application form.
Payment. USD cash, full amount at the walk-in. Cambodian agents settle their wholesale lodgement at Immigration in USD, and that flows through to how you pay. Bring crisp clean notes — older or torn USD bills are sometimes refused. A handful of BKK1 agents now accept bank transfer or local Cambodian payment apps for an added 2–5% fee, but cash is universally accepted. Take a written receipt at the walk-in with the date, extension length (12 months), single or multi-entry status, agreed pickup date, and amount paid. The Cambodia visa extension agents in Phnom Penh guide covers the full vetting criteria for picking the right agent for a year-long lodgement.
When the 12-month extension does not make sense
The 12-month extension is the wrong call in two specific scenarios, and Aussies who pay the $300–400 USD (~$457–609 AUD) anyway typically discover the mistake six to eight months in. Knowing the two anti-patterns before you walk into the agent saves both the money and the awkward conversation about refunds (there are none — see the FAQ below).
Anti-pattern one — you will leave Cambodia more than once but bought single-entry. The 12-month single-entry stamp burns the moment you exit Cambodia for the first time. There is no partial credit, no rebate, no way to re-enter on the same stamp. If you have any real chance of leaving Cambodia during the year — a friend's wedding, a board meeting, a regional holiday — you need the multi-entry premium. The premium is $30–50 USD (~$46–76 AUD) on a 12-month and pays for itself on the first re-entry by avoiding a fresh $90 USD (~$137 AUD) Business eVisa. Aussies who buy 12-month single-entry and then leave once are effectively paying $90 USD (~$137 AUD) per re-entry to come back, which can compound fast across an unplanned year.
Anti-pattern two — you are committed for under 9 months. If you honestly plan to be in Cambodia for 6 to 8 months and not the full year, the 6-month extension at $180–240 USD (~$274–366 AUD) is the better buy. Per-month rate on a 6-month works out at $30–40 USD/month versus $33+ USD/month if you use only 8 months of a 12-month stamp. The 6-month is also renewable — if you reach month five and decide you want to stay another six, you can lodge a second 6-month extension on top at lower total cost. The 12-month wins on per-month rate only when you use the full 12 months.
The honest framing across both anti-patterns: the 12-month is a commitment instrument, not a flexibility instrument. Aussies who treat it as the cheaper way to buy optionality usually find it is the more expensive way. Pick it when the year is firm — a confirmed contract, a settled retirement trial, a planned long-form remote-work build — and pick the 6-month when the commitment is still being tested.
Thailand
Visa-free 60 days
Bangkok in, Siem Reap out — but the land border's closed.
Read the 2026 update →Vietnam
eVisa required ($25 single / $50 multi)
Classic Indochina pairing. Phu Quoc beaches are visa-free for 30 days.
See the combo guide →Laos
eVisa $50 or VoA $35–40
Overlooked third stop on the Indochina loop.
Plan the Laos route →Singapore
Visa-free 90 days (SGAC needed)
Where most Aussies stop on the way through.
Sort the stopover →Indonesia
e-VOA required ($35 + Bali levy)
Bali or Cambodia for your next trip — or both?
Compare the two →Pulling it together for your 2026 12-month Cambodia stay
Short version for Aussies: the 12-month extension is the longest commitment-level Cambodia stay available to Australians, lodged through a Phnom Penh agent on the Business eVisa, costs $300–400 USD (~$457–609 AUD) on top of the $90 USD (~$137 AUD) initial visa, takes 7–14 business days, and delivers the best per-month rate of the four extension lengths — but only when the year is genuinely used. Pick single-entry for a firm year-in-place stay; pick multi-entry the moment any leaving-and-returning is in play. If you have not yet booked the underlying visa, the Cambodia Business eVisa application is the place to start, and the Australia country pillar covers the wider eligibility edge cases.
For the wider extension picture, the Cambodia Business visa extensions guide sits one level above this one with the full 1/3/6/12-month decision tree, and the Cambodia visa extension agents in Phnom Penh guide covers the agent vetting side. If the 12-month is the wrong fit and you want flexibility, the Cambodia multi-entry visa for Australians guide and the Cambodia frequent traveller visa strategy walk through the alternative configurations. The Cambodia retiree long-stay guide and the Cambodia digital nomad visa guide for Australians cover the two use cases the 12-month extension is most often built around. For background context, the Smartraveller Cambodia advisory is worth a quick read before you commit to a year in-country.
Next steps and related reading for Australians: apply for your Cambodia eVisa when you are ready to lodge, bookmark our Cambodia visa hub for Australian citizens as the single canonical reference, skim the FAQ on Cambodia visa extending stay for quick answers, and use our glossary of Cambodia visa terms to decode any acronym in this guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can Australians get a 12-month Cambodia visa extension?
Yes — but only on the Business eVisa (E-Class). The 12-month extension is the longest the Cambodian immigration agent network offers Australians. Costs ~$300–400 USD (~$457–609 AUD) through an agent on top of your original $90 USD (~$137 AUD) Business eVisa. Processed in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, 7–14 business days. The Tourist eVisa (T-Class) cannot be extended in-country at all since November 2025 — if you plan to use the 12-month extension you must enter on the Business class from Australia, not the Tourist class.
How much does a 12-month extension cost?
Agent fees in 2026 sit at roughly $300–400 USD (~$457–609 AUD) for the 12-month single-entry extension, with the upper end of that range in BKK1 (Phnom Penh's expat district) and the lower end in Daun Penh and Toul Kork. Multi-entry adds a flat $30–50 USD (~$46–76 AUD) on top — so multi-entry 12-month lands at $330–450 USD (~$503–686 AUD) all-in. Pay in USD cash at the walk-in, take a written receipt with the extension length and entry status confirmed. Add the $90 USD (~$137 AUD) Business eVisa cost upfront and your total Year One Cambodia visa spend lands at $390–540 USD (~$594–822 AUD).
Can the 12-month extension be renewed?
Yes — the 12-month extension is fully renewable. You lodge a second 12-month extension on top of the first one through the same agent, with the same paperwork and the same 7–14 business day turnaround. This is how Aussie long-stay residents — retirees who have settled in Kampot, digital nomads on multi-year remote contracts, mechanical engineers on rolling Cambodian assignments — run multiple years in-country on a single original Business eVisa. There is no annual interview, no re-entry requirement, no in-person Immigration counter visit. Lodge each renewal at least two weeks before the previous stamp expires to keep margin in hand.
Is 12-month single-entry or can I leave and return?
Both options are available. Single-entry is the default and saves you the multi-entry premium — it works fine if you genuinely plan to stay inside Cambodia for the full year. Multi-entry adds roughly $30–50 USD (~$46–76 AUD) and lets you exit Cambodia and re-enter on the same stamp as many times as you like across the 12 months. On a 12-month extension, multi-entry is the best-value length to add the premium to — it sits at well under 15% of the total cost. If there is any real chance you will leave Cambodia even once across the year, multi-entry pays for itself on the first re-entry by avoiding a fresh $90 USD (~$137 AUD) Business eVisa.
Do I get a discount per month compared to shorter extensions?
On paper, yes — the 12-month works out at the cheapest per-month rate of the four extension lengths at ~$25–33 USD/month, versus ~$30–40 USD/month on the 6-month and ~$33–50 USD/month on the 3-month. The catch is the per-month rate only applies if you actually use the full 12 months. Pay $400 USD (~$609 AUD) for a year and leave Cambodia after 8 months and your effective rate is $50 USD/month (~$76 AUD/month) — worse than if you had simply bought a 6-month extension upfront. The 12-month wins on per-month rate only when the commitment is real.
What if I leave Cambodia 8 months in — can I get a refund?
No. The agent fee is paid to the agent at the walk-in for the lodgement work, the Immigration component is paid to the General Department of Immigration when the stamp is issued, and neither is refundable. There is no partial credit for unused months on a 12-month extension if you exit Cambodia early. The honest implication: only commit to the 12-month length when you are genuinely staying the full year. For trips that might end at 6–8 months, the 6-month extension at $180–240 USD (~$274–366 AUD) is the better buy — it is renewable on top if you decide to stay longer, and it caps your downside if you leave early.
How long does the agent process the 12-month extension?
Typically 7 to 14 business days from when you hand over your passport at the walk-in to when the agent messages you for pickup with the extension stamp inside. The range is genuine — Immigration workload and the agent's lodgement batch both move with the season. The 12-month extension is not slower than the shorter lengths — the underlying paperwork is the same, only the stamp duration differs. Lodge inside your first two weeks in Cambodia to keep a comfortable margin between the lodgement and your initial 30-day stay expiring.
Can my Aussie spouse also get the 12-month extension?
Yes. The 12-month extension is per-traveller and there are no family-link or dependent-spouse complications on the Cambodian Business eVisa system for Aussies. Each Australian spouse needs to book their own Business eVisa at $90 USD (~$137 AUD), fly in (typically together on the same flight, though it doesn't have to be), and lodge their own 12-month extension at the same agent's walk-in. Most agents are happy to process both extensions in the same visit on the same paperwork batch. Total Year One cost for an Aussie couple: roughly $880–1,080 USD (~$1,340–1,645 AUD) all-in for two single-entry 12-month extensions plus two underlying Business eVisas.
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