Cambodia e-Arrival Card Photo: Does It Need One, and How It Differs From Your eVisa Photo
The short answer: the Cambodia e-Arrival Card does not ask for a photo at all. The eVisa is the one that needs your headshot. Here is why the two get confused, what each step actually wants, and where each one sits in your trip.
Does the Cambodia e-Arrival Card need a photo, and how is it different from the eVisa photo?
No, the Cambodia e-Arrival Card does not need a photo. It is a short typed declaration of 14 fields — your identity, your flight and stay, and a brief customs declaration — with nothing to upload or attach. The photo belongs to a completely separate step: the eVisa, which does require a recent passport-style headshot on a plain white background, submitted as a JPEG under 2 MB. The two are easy to confuse because both are online forms you complete before you fly and both copy details from your US passport, but only the eVisa asks for your face. You complete the eVisa first, weeks ahead, with the photo, then file the e-Arrival Card in the 7 days before you land, with no photo.
نکات کلیدی
- The Cambodia e-Arrival Card does not require a photo upload. It is a short typed declaration — identity, flight, stay, and customs questions — with nothing to attach.
- The eVisa is the step that needs your photo: a recent, passport-style headshot on a plain white background, submitted as a JPEG under 2 MB, ideally 600×600 pixels or larger.
- The two get confused because both are online forms you do before you fly, and both pull from your US passport — but only one asks for a face image.
- You do both, in order: the eVisa weeks ahead (with the photo), then the e-Arrival Card in the 7 days before you land (no photo).
- We file a verified e-Arrival Card for $5 USD, checked end-to-end before it reaches Cambodian Immigration, so a typed-field slip does not bounce you back to the queue at the kiosk.
The short answer, and why this question keeps coming up
Why the e-Arrival Card has no photo field
The eVisa is the step that needs your photo
The eVisa photo — what passes and what gets flagged
Acceptable
- Plain white or off-white background
- Full face centered, looking at the lens
- Neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open
- Even daytime light, no shadows on face or wall
- Taken within the last 6 months
- JPEG, under 2 MB, 600×600 pixels or larger
Rejected
- Patterned, colored, or cluttered background
- Glasses, sunglasses, or tinted lenses
- Hats or non-religious head coverings
- Shadows behind your head from a ceiling light
- Smiling, teeth showing, or open mouth
- HEIC file, arm's-length selfie, or under 600px
How the two forms differ, side by side
- Photo: the eVisa needs one headshot; the e-Arrival Card needs none. This is the single biggest difference and the source of the whole confusion.
- Timing: the eVisa is approved in 3 business days, so you apply weeks ahead. The e-Arrival Card is filed within the 7 days before you land and is tied to a specific flight, so you cannot file it months early.
سوالات متداول
Does the Cambodia e-Arrival Card require a photo?
No. The e-Arrival Card has no photo field and nothing to upload. It is a short typed declaration of 14 fields across three sections — your identity, your flight and stay, and a brief customs declaration. If you open the form and find no upload button, that is correct; the card matches you by the typed name and passport number, not by a face image.
Which Cambodia step actually needs my photo?
The eVisa. When you apply for the Cambodia eVisa, you upload a recent passport-style headshot, and that image is printed on the approved visa PDF and compared to your face at the immigration counter. The photo work happens once, at the visa stage, weeks before you travel — never at the arrival-card stage.
What is the photo spec for the Cambodia eVisa?
A recent (last 6 months) passport-style color photo on a plain white or off-white background, full face visible and centered, neutral expression with no smile, no glasses, and no hats except daily religious head coverings. Submit it as a JPEG under 2 MB, ideally 600×600 pixels or larger and roughly square. A phone photo against a white wall in daylight meets every one of these.
Why do people think the e-Arrival Card needs a photo?
Because the eVisa and the e-Arrival Card are both online forms you complete before you fly, both copy details from your US passport, and both have to read the same name and passport number. They feel like two halves of the same task. But only the eVisa asks for your face — the arrival card is pure data entry with no image attached.
Do I need a different photo for the e-Arrival Card than for the eVisa?
No, because the e-Arrival Card needs no photo at all. There is no second headshot to prepare, no separate spec to meet, and nothing to re-shoot. The only photo in the entire process is the one you upload to the eVisa, and once that is approved you never touch a camera for the arrival card.
Do I have to do both the eVisa and the e-Arrival Card?
Yes, and in that order. The eVisa is your permission to enter, approved in 3 business days and delivered as a printable PDF by email — you do it weeks ahead, with the photo. The e-Arrival Card is your arrival declaration, filed within the 7 days before you land, with no photo. Both are mandatory for every air arrival in 2026.
If the iPhone HEIC format causes problems, is that an e-Arrival issue?
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