Cambodia eVisa for Minors: Documents US Families Need for Kids

What is NOT on the form (the consent-letter myth)

This is where the Cambodia eVisa surprises American parents most. The documents families brace to provide for a child crossing a border are simply not part of the application. The list of what you do NOT upload is longer than the list of what you do.

• No notarized parental consent letter. The eVisa form never asks for one. This is the document parents worry about most, and it is not part of the visa application at all.
• No birth certificate. Cambodia reads the child identity from the passport, not from a birth record. You do not upload or attach a birth certificate to the eVisa.
• No proof of relationship to the child. The form does not ask you to demonstrate you are the parent or guardian, and there is no field for it.
• No custody or court documents. Family-court paperwork is not part of the Cambodia eVisa, even for separated or single-parent families.
• No return flight, hotel booking, or bank statement for the child. The same light requirements that apply to adults apply to minors — no proof of onward travel, no accommodation booking, no proof of funds.
• No travel insurance or vaccination record. Neither is part of the eVisa for a child, though general health advice for the trip is still worth a read separately.

The consent letter deserves a clear word, because it is the question we get most from parents. A notarized consent letter from the absent parent can be requested by an airline at check-in, or by an immigration officer, when a child travels without both parents — that is a real and separate situation. It is just not a Cambodia eVisa requirement. If only one parent is flying with the child, prepare a consent letter for the airline and the border anyway, but understand it has nothing to do with what you upload on the visa form. The US State Department travel guidance for Cambodia is the right reference for the airline and border side of traveling with a minor.

Sort the child passport first — it is the long-lead item

Of all five documents, the child passport is the one that can derail a trip, because it is the only one with a lead time you cannot compress at the last minute. The eVisa itself takes 3 business days; a child passport can take weeks. If a minor in your family does not have a current US passport, that is the very first thing to start — long before you think about the visa.

US passports for minors under 16 carry two complications adults do not face. They are valid for only 5 years rather than 10, and they require consent from both parents or guardians, which in practice usually means both appearing in person at the application appointment. For a newborn, you are often waiting on the birth certificate before you can even apply, which adds time on the front end. Families planning a Cambodia trip around a new baby should start the passport the moment the birth certificate arrives, not the month before the flight.

Routine US passport processing in 2026 runs several weeks, and the validity headroom matters as much as the passport existing at all. A child passport needs the same 6 months of remaining validity from your date of entry that an adult one does, plus a clean page for the entry stamp. Because the 5-year child passport ages faster against that 6-month rule, the most common family surprise is a parent passport that is fine and a child passport that is three months short. Lay all the passports out together and check each expiry before you book anything.

How to get a compliant photo of a baby or young child

The child photo is the part of the file most likely to need a second attempt, because the specs that apply to an adult apply to a six-month-old: plain white background, face fully visible, head centered, eyes open, neutral expression, and absolutely no parent hand or arm in frame. You do not need a studio or a booth — a phone camera and a plain white surface produce a compliant photo every time once you know the routine.

For an infant who cannot sit or hold their head up, the trick most US parents use is to lay the baby on their back on a plain white sheet or blanket and shoot straight down from directly above. That keeps the background clean and removes any need to prop the child up with a visible hand. Use daylight from a side window rather than the camera flash, which bounces and creates harsh shadows. Take a dozen shots and pick the one where the eyes are open and the expression is calm — that single frame is usually the whole battle.

For a toddler or young child who can sit up, stand them against a plain white wall or sit them in a white-covered high chair, get down to their eye level, and use the phone rear camera. No toy in the shot, no pacifier, no smile if you can manage it — a neutral or calm expression is what the validator wants. Do not filter or beautify the image; the auto-flagger rejects heavily smoothed photos. Our dedicated guide on the Cambodia eVisa photo for babies and children walks through every angle and lighting setup in detail.

One detail that saves families a flagged file across the board: the name and date of birth on each child eVisa must match that child passport machine-readable zone exactly. It is genuinely easy to transpose two children, or fat-finger a baby date of birth, when you are filling several forms back to back. Check each completed form against the right passport before you submit. A mismatch is a free fix, but it costs a day you may not want to lose right before a flight.

The e-Arrival Card — one record per child

The eVisa is only one of the two things every air arrival needs in 2026. The second is the Cambodia e-Arrival Card, and it applies to children exactly as it applies to adults. Every family member who flies in — babies included — needs their own e-Arrival record, with 14 fields covering the passport, the flight, and where you are staying, submitted within 7 days before you land.

A young child obviously cannot complete their own e-Arrival, so a parent fills it in on their behalf, one record per child. The details on each child record have to match that child eVisa and passport precisely — same name, same passport number, same date of birth. A single date-format slip on a child record is one of the most common reasons a family gets held at the kiosk while everyone behind them waits, so it is worth getting each one verified before you travel rather than rushing all of them at the airport with a tired toddler in tow.

At Immigration, each child is processed individually with their own passport, eVisa PDF, and e-Arrival record. Phnom Penh now flies through Techo International Airport (KTI), which replaced the old airport in September 2025, so make sure each family e-Arrival reflects the airport you actually land at. Have every child printed PDF in hand alongside the passports — children do not get a fast lane, and a complete file for each one keeps the family moving through the counter together.

Putting each child file together before you apply

So, to close the loop: each US minor needs the same five-item file an adult does — a current child passport with 6 months validity, a white-background photo with eyes open and no hand in frame, a clear bio-page scan, a parent email, and a payment method. No consent letter, no birth certificate, no proof of relationship on the form. Each child applies on their own passport for their own $80 USD Tourist eVisa, approved in 3 business days. Our breakdown of Cambodia visa cost for US families works the per-child budgeting through if you are pricing a larger group.

Two reminders before you start. First, sort every child passport early — that is the long-lead item, not the visa, and the 5-year child passport ages faster against the 6-month rule than you expect. Second, the e-Arrival Card is separate from the eVisa and applies to each child for every air arrival. If you are applying for several kids in one sitting, the guide on the Cambodia eVisa for kids and families covers the multi-child workflow from the same device.

Next steps for US families: confirm every child passport is in date with a clean page, take a clean white-background photo for each child, capture each bio-page scan without glare, then file one eVisa per child and one e-Arrival record per child inside the 7-day window. Get those pieces lined up for every traveler and the family clears Immigration together on arrival.