Common Cambodia e-Arrival Card Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Small mistakes, avoidable problems

The Cambodia e-Arrival Card is a short form, and almost nobody gets it wrong because it is hard. People get it wrong because it is easy: easy enough to fill in quickly, from memory, on a phone, in the busy last few days before a trip. The mistakes below are all small. What makes them worth avoiding is that they surface at the immigration desk, at the end of a long journey, where a two-minute fix at home becomes a delay.

We have grouped them by where they happen: in your personal details, in your travel details, in timing, on family trips, and after you have filed.

Mistakes in your personal details

1. A name that does not match the passport

The single most important field. Common versions: leaving out a middle name, using a nickname or shortened first name, dropping one of two surnames, or using a married name that is not yet in the passport. Fix: copy your name exactly as printed on the passport’s photo page, every part of it.

2. Day and month swapped

A date of birth of 4 July typed as 7 April is easy to miss on screen. It happens most often to travellers used to writing the month first. Fix: read every date aloud as day, month, year before you submit.

3. A mistyped passport number

The letter O and the number 0, the letter I and the number 1, and a transposed pair of digits are the usual culprits. Fix: copy the number from the passport, then check it a second time character by character.

4. The wrong passport

Filing on an old passport after a renewal, or on the wrong one of two passports if you are a dual national. Fix: file on the passport you will hand to the officer, and make sure your visa, if you need one, is on the same passport.

Mistakes in your travel details

5. The first flight instead of the last

On a connecting journey, travellers often enter the flight they depart on from home. The card wants the flight that lands in Cambodia. Fix: take the flight number and date from the final leg of your booking.

6. Departure date and next destination left vague

These fields are new in 2026, and they are the ones people are least prepared for. Fix: have your return or onward booking open before you start, and enter your planned exit date and the country you are going to next. Filing with us before you have booked? Say “not booked yet” rather than guessing, and we will email you to add the details.

7. An accommodation entry that says nothing

Entries like “hotel” or “TBC” give Immigration nothing to go on. Fix: give the name and city of where you are staying on your first night.

Timing mistakes

8. Trying to file too early

The form only accepts submissions within 7 days of your arrival date. Travellers who try two or three weeks ahead find it will not go through, then forget to come back. Fix: set a reminder for 4 days before you land, or book with a service that files automatically when the window opens.