Cambodia Entry Requirements for US Citizens: Everything You Need at the Border

Requirement 2: a submitted e-Arrival Card

The Cambodia e-Arrival Card is the requirement Americans most often miss, because it is new, it is separate from the eVisa, and the name makes it sound optional. It is not. Every air arrival has to have one, and it is filed in advance — not handed to you on the plane like the old paper landing cards. If you arrive without it, you are pushed to a kiosk to complete it on the spot, which is exactly the queue you want to skip after a long flight.

The Card is a 14-field digital declaration that bundles together your arrival details: passport and personal data, your flight and arrival date, the address where you are staying in Cambodia, and a short customs and health declaration. It is verified through us for $5 USD and submitted within 7 days before you arrive — file it too early and it falls outside the window, so it sits firmly in the final week of trip prep, after your eVisa is already approved.

The detail that catches people is matching. The passport name, number, and date of birth on your e-Arrival Card have to match your eVisa and your passport exactly — a mismatch is the most common reason a traveler gets held at the arrivals desk. Do the eVisa first, then copy those details across when you file the Card. Our guide on whether you need the Cambodia e-Arrival Card walks through every field and the order to fill them in.

Requirement 3: a valid US passport with a clean page

Your US passport has to clear two checks, and the airline confirms both at your departure gate before you board. First, validity: at least 6 months of remaining validity counted from your date of entry into Cambodia. Second, space: at least one full blank visa page for the physical entry stamp the Immigration officer presses in when you arrive.

The 6-month rule catches more Americans than the page rule, because a passport can be technically valid on your travel dates and still fall short. Say you arrive in July 2026. Count 6 months forward to January 2027 — your passport has to be valid past that. An expiry of October 2027 sails through; an expiry of September 2026 fails, even though the passport has not technically expired on your trip dates. If yours is close, renew before you book anything. Standard US passport renewal runs roughly 4 to 6 weeks in 2026, expedited about 2 to 3 weeks.

The blank page has to be a genuine visa page — one of the inner pages marked "Visas," not the endorsement pages at the back — and it has to be truly empty. A page already carrying a Thai or Schengen stamp does not count, even if most of it is white space, because Immigration stamps land on clean pages rather than tucking into gaps. Each traveler needs their own clean page in their own passport, so a family checks every book, not just one.

Because the eVisa is tied to the exact passport number and machine-readable zone you apply with, settle your passport before you apply. Renew first if it is short on validity or full on pages, then apply on the new book — applying on a passport you are about to replace means doing the whole thing twice. Our guide on the blank passport pages needed for Cambodia covers exactly how an officer counts your pages.

Requirement 4: you arrive by air, at an approved airport

The fourth requirement is about where you physically cross the border, and for US travelers in 2026 the answer is simple: you fly in. All 7 Thailand-Cambodia land borders have been closed since June 2025, so the popular overland routes that used to let backpackers bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap are not an entry option right now. If your plan involved a land crossing from Thailand, it needs to become a flight.

The airport that surprises people is Phnom Penh. The capital now flies into Techo International Airport (KTI), which replaced the old PNH airport on 9 September 2025. If you are working from an older guide, a saved booking, or a map that still says PNH, update it — KTI is a new facility on a different site, and the taxi and transfer logistics are different from what travelers remember. Cambodia is also served by Siem Reap-Angkor International for Angkor Wat trips and Sihanouk International for the coast.

This matters before you ever reach the airport, because you select your arrival point on both the eVisa and the e-Arrival Card. Pick the airport you are actually flying into, and keep it consistent across both documents — a mismatch between your eVisa and your Card is an avoidable hold at the desk. Our Cambodia eVisa eligible entry points for US citizens guide lists every approved airport and the field where you choose it.

What you do NOT need — and what Immigration can still ask

The Cambodia entry pack is lighter than most Americans expect, so it is worth being clear about what is genuinely not required to be approved. The eVisa application does not ask for any of the following, and you can be fully approved without them:

• No return or onward flight ticket to be approved for the eVisa — you can apply before you have booked your flights.
• No hotel booking. The forms ask for an intended address in Cambodia, but a hotel name and city is enough, with no confirmation PDF or nights-paid evidence.
• No bank statement or proof of funds at the application stage — there is no minimum balance, payslip, or employer letter required to get approved.
• No travel insurance proof. Insurance is sensible for any trip, but the eVisa never asks to see a policy.
• No itinerary or day-by-day plan, and no vaccination record at the eVisa stage for US travelers.

Here is the nuance, though: not required to be approved is not the same as never asked. A Cambodian Immigration officer keeps discretion at the border and can, on the day, ask to see proof of onward travel or evidence that you can support your stay. It is uncommon for straightforward tourist arrivals, but it is their right. The simple insurance is to have a return or onward booking and a working payment card you can show if asked — you do not upload them, you just keep them reachable on your phone. Our guide on onward ticket and proof of funds for US citizens covers when this actually comes up.

It is also worth a five-minute read of current US government travel health advice before you go — not because Cambodia checks it at the border, but because routine vaccinations and basic precautions are sensible for the region. None of it changes what you upload or carry to the gate; it is trip-planning context, not an entry requirement.

Run the checklist, then apply

Here is the whole border in one breath. Approved eVisa in hand as a printed PDF, e-Arrival Card submitted in the final week with details that match your passport, a US passport with 6+ months validity and one clean visa page, and a flight into an approved airport — KTI for Phnom Penh, Siem Reap-Angkor, or Sihanouk International. Land borders are closed, so you fly. Clear those four and the rest is queueing.

The documents you arrange are quick to sort. Tourist eVisa $80 USD, Business eVisa $90 USD, both approved in 3 business days and delivered as a printable PDF by email, both with free resubmission if Immigration flags a correction, all backed by US-timezone support. If a detail does trip the application, the common flags are gathered in our Cambodia eVisa documents required for Americans guide so you can clear them on the first try.

Next steps and related reading for Americans: apply for your Cambodia eVisa once your passport checks out, confirm the visa side in our Cambodia visa requirements for US citizens guide, sort the arrival declaration with our guide on whether you need the Cambodia e-Arrival Card, and confirm where you land with our Cambodia eVisa eligible entry points for US citizens page.