Cambodia Business Visa 1-Year Extension Decision for Australians: When the 12-Month Option Pays Off (2026)

The honest break-even maths

Here is the calculation most Aussies skip. The 12-month extension is the cheapest per-month option once your actual stay crosses roughly five months. Below that, the 3-month and 6-month options are cheaper for the time you really use. The trap is paying for unused months and rounding the decision off the sticker price rather than off the realistic project timeline.

Worked break-even comparison

Take a mid-range cost-per-stay view. A 12-month single-entry extension at $300 USD (~$457 AUD) lands at $25 USD/month if you actually use all 12 months. Use only 6 months and you have effectively paid $50 USD/month — still cheaper than two 3-month extensions, but the gap narrows. Use only 4 months and you have paid $75 USD/month, which is more expensive than a single 3-month extension at $180 USD plus a 1-month stretcher at $65 USD. The 12-month only becomes obviously cheaper once you cross five months of real stay.

The break-even shifts further if you genuinely need multi-entry. The 12-month with multi-entry sits at roughly $350 USD (~$534 AUD) all-in — which is still the cheapest per-month past about 5-6 months, because the multi-entry add-on on shorter extensions stacks up fast when you renew. Two consecutive 6-month multi-entry extensions cost roughly $580-620 USD; the 12-month multi-entry runs $330-370 USD for the same calendar coverage. If you know you will stay a full year and you will leave Cambodia at least once, the 12-month multi-entry is the obvious pick.

• Under 3 months expected stay: stick with 30-day stretchers or a single 3-month extension. The 12-month is overkill.
• 3-5 months expected stay: the 6-month extension is the sweet spot. Cheaper than a 12-month you will not finish.
• 5-9 months expected stay: this is the honest grey zone. Run the maths on your specific exit date. If you will use 6+ months of multi-entry, the 12-month wins. If single-entry and uncertain, the 6-month is lower regret.
• 9-12 months expected stay: the 12-month is the right call. Per-month cost beats every other option, and you stop renewing paperwork mid-project.
• 12+ months expected stay: still the 12-month, renewable. Stack a second one on top when the first expires.

When the 12-month extension is clearly the right call

Three Aussie profiles consistently land on the 12-month extension as the lowest-regret pick. The common thread is a known long horizon — these are not 'maybe I will stay longer' cases, they are contracted, committed, or strongly intended stays of 6-12 months and beyond.

Profile 1 — Aussie consultant on a 6-9 month engagement

A Sydney management consultant signs a 9-month engagement with a Phnom Penh fintech or a regional ADB-funded program. Project plan locked, contract dates known, occasional weekend hops to Bangkok or Singapore expected for client meetings. Initial Business eVisa at $90 USD (~$137 AUD), then the 12-month multi-entry extension at roughly $330 USD (~$503 AUD). Total visa cost for the full engagement: $420 USD (~$640 AUD). Compare to three consecutive 3-month multi-entry extensions, which would land closer to $630-720 USD (~$960-1098 AUD). The 12-month saves real money and removes three rounds of agent admin.

Profile 2 — AusAID or DFAT-funded program team lead

AusAID team leads on 12-month postings, DFAT-funded program managers, MFAT or DFID secondees — the long-tenure development sector cohort sits squarely in the 12-month extension category. Contracts run a year, occasional Canberra or HQ trips are built into the role, and the admin overhead of renewing every 3 months is a genuine distraction from the work. Multi-entry is non-negotiable for this profile, given the routine out-and-back travel to regional offices and home. The 12-month multi-entry is the standard procurement for the segment.

Profile 3 — Mining services or infrastructure contractor on rolling work

Aussie mining services contractors and infrastructure consultants working on Cambodia's quarry, cement, and road projects often sit on rolling 6-month contracts that quietly extend into a year. The work shifts between Phnom Penh HQ time, site visits to Kandal or Kampot, and quarterly trips home. Same logic as the consultant — the 12-month multi-entry is roughly half the cost of stacking shorter multi-entry extensions and removes the renewal cycle from a workload that does not need it.

When staggered shorter extensions are cheaper

The other half of the honest answer is that the 12-month extension is the wrong pick more often than Aussies expect. Three patterns flag the staggered approach as the smarter call.

Pattern 1 — Project timeline genuinely uncertain

If you are not sure whether the engagement will extend past month four, do not commit $280-320 USD (~$427-488 AUD) upfront. A 3-month extension at roughly $180 USD (~$274 AUD) plus a follow-on 3-month if needed comes to a similar total but only pays for the months you actually use. The 12-month is a bet on a stay that has not yet been confirmed — and that bet loses if the project wraps early.

Pattern 2 — Short-burst rotational work

Some Aussies fly into Cambodia on a 30-day pattern — three weeks on, one week back in Sydney, repeat. The total in-country time across a year might still be 6-7 months, but the multi-entry pattern means you are paying for the entry rights, not the calendar coverage. Staggered 30-day and 3-month multi-entry extensions can work out cheaper here because you only pay during the actual on-rotation weeks. Run the numbers against your specific rotation pattern before committing.

Pattern 3 — Tourist trial that became business

Aussies who arrived on a Tourist eVisa, then realised mid-trip that the work needed a Business class, cannot switch in-country. The fix is to exit Cambodia, re-enter on a fresh Business eVisa, and start the extension clock fresh. From there, run the same break-even decision — but unless the rest of the stay is clearly past five months, start with a 3-month or 6-month extension rather than jumping straight to the 12-month.

For the wider extensions picture across all four lengths, the extensions vs fresh eVisa comparison runs the renewal-versus-restart maths, and the multiple rounds extension guide covers stacking extensions back-to-back for stays past 12 months.

Practical lodgement: when, where, what to expect

Once you have decided the 12-month is the right call, the lodgement itself is routine paperwork. Start the process 2-3 weeks before your current stay expires. The standard turnaround through a Phnom Penh registered agent is 7-14 business days, and the stamp dates from approval, not from when you handed in the passport — so lodging early loses you no time but buys you a safety margin if the upper end of the range hits.

You will hand over your passport, a recent passport-style photo, your current Phnom Penh accommodation address, and payment in USD cash. The agent submits to the General Department of Immigration, holds your passport with a written receipt during processing, and returns it with the 12-month extension stamp inside. Confirm in writing whether your payment includes multi-entry — that small line item is the one most often misquoted at handover.

For Aussies based in Siem Reap or Sihanoukville, the agent ecosystem is smaller but still functional. The Phnom Penh extension agents guide lists the questions to vet any agent on. For the wider Cambodia visa cost picture mapped across initial visa, extension, and the e-Arrival Card, the Cambodia visa cost guide for Australians has the full breakdown.

Three Aussie worked scenarios

Three honest worked examples covering the decision in the wild. All 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 A — AusAID team lead on a 12-month Phnom Penh posting

Hobart-based development professional, 12-month posting confirmed by contract, expects 4-5 trips home or to regional offices over the year. Enters on the Business eVisa at $90 USD (~$137 AUD), lodges the 12-month multi-entry extension three weeks in at $340 USD (~$518 AUD). Total visa cost for the full posting: $430 USD (~$655 AUD). Alternative — three 4-month multi-entry stretches at roughly $250 USD each — would have cost $840 USD (~$1280 AUD). The 12-month saves roughly $400 AUD and removes two rounds of agent admin mid-posting.

Scenario B — Adelaide mining services contractor on rolling 6-month work

ASX-listed mining services firm, original contract is 6 months in Kandal, client has already flagged a likely 3-month extension. Travels home every 6-8 weeks for partner meetings. Enters on the Business eVisa at $90 USD (~$137 AUD), lodges the 12-month multi-entry at $330 USD (~$503 AUD) once the second contract is verbally locked in. Total: $420 USD (~$640 AUD). Compare to a 6-month multi-entry followed by another 3-month multi-entry — $310 USD + $210 USD = $520 USD (~$793 AUD) — and the 12-month wins on both cost and renewal load.

Scenario C — Perth consultant whose 9-month engagement ended at month four

Counter-example. Perth consultant signs a 9-month engagement, lodges the 12-month multi-entry at $340 USD (~$518 AUD) at the start of month two. Client cancels the engagement at month four. Total visa spend across an actual 4-month stay: $90 USD + $340 USD = $430 USD (~$655 AUD), versus the staggered alternative — initial Business eVisa plus a single 3-month multi-entry extension at $210 USD — that would have cost $300 USD (~$457 AUD). The 12-month pre-commitment cost an extra $130 USD. The honest read: do not commit to the 12-month unless the stay is contracted or near-certain past month five.

Pulling it together for the 12-month decision

The summary for Aussies on a Business eVisa weighing the 12-month: run the break-even before the cash leaves the wallet. Cheapest per-month past roughly 5 months of real stay, expensive dead money under 4 months, and multi-entry is non-negotiable if you will leave Cambodia even once. If your stay is locked in past 6 months — contracted consulting work, an AusAID posting, a confirmed contractor rotation — the 12-month is the right call. If your project timeline is still fluid, the 3-month or 6-month extension is the lower-regret pick. To start with the underlying visa, the Business eVisa application is the place to begin, and the Australia country pillar covers the wider eligibility picture.

For the cost side mapped across the whole long-stay journey, the Cambodia visa cost guide for Australians has the full breakdown. The frequent-traveller visa strategy piece sits alongside this one for Aussies running multiple year-on-year long stays.

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 business visa for quick answers, and use our glossary of Cambodia visa terms to decode any acronym in this guide.