Cambodia Visa for Digital Nomads and Remote Workers (US Citizens)

The Business eVisa is the de facto nomad visa

Here is the part that surprises Americans coming from heavier processes in Thailand or Vietnam: Cambodia's Business eVisa is not a high-friction corporate visa. It is the same lightweight online application as the Tourist eVisa, with a $10 difference in price and one enormous advantage — it can be extended in-country, indefinitely in practice, through stacked extensions. For a remote worker, that combination is the closest thing Cambodia offers to a nomad visa, and it is far easier to get than the dedicated nomad visas elsewhere in the region.

The Business eVisa (Type-E, the ordinary E-class) asks for the same five-item pack as the Tourist eVisa. No sponsor letter from a Cambodian company. No employment contract. No formal invitation. No proof of income, no minimum bank balance, no return flight ticket, no hotel booking. That last point matters for nomads specifically: visas marketed as "digital nomad" elsewhere usually demand a monthly income threshold and bank statements to prove it. Cambodia's Business eVisa asks for none of that.

• US passport — at least 6 months validity from your planned date of arrival in Cambodia, with at least one full blank page for the entry stamp.
• Digital passport-style photo — plain white background, taken in the last 6 months, no glasses, no hats, no smile, neutral expression. JPEG, under 2 MB.
• Clear scan or phone photo of your passport bio page — both edges visible, no glare on the laminate, all text legible.
• Working email address — the approval PDF lands here, so use an inbox that accepts PDF attachments.
• Payment method — Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.

The mechanics are the headline. The Business eVisa gives the same initial 30-day stay as the Tourist eVisa, but once you are in Cambodia you can extend it for 1, 3, 6, or 12 months through a Cambodian immigration agent. The extensions are renewable, so a nomad can run a full year — or several — on the same original Business eVisa. No other Cambodia visa supports this. The Cambodia ordinary (E-class) visa explained breaks down how the E-class umbrella and its extensions work field by field.

Extensions: how nomads turn 30 days into a base

The 30-day initial stay is the part that worries first-time nomads, and it should not. You enter Cambodia on the Business eVisa, settle in, and then arrange your extension in-country while the first 30 days are still running. The extension is lodged through a Cambodian immigration agent — not at a government counter directly — typically based in Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. You hand over your passport, the agent files the paperwork, and your passport comes back stamped a week or two later.

Four extension lengths exist: 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. For digital nomads, the 6-month extension is the single most common choice we process. It covers a full dry-season stay (roughly November through April, when Siem Reap and Kampot are at their best), lands on one of the best per-month rates, and saves a second trip to the agent. The 3-month extension suits shorter project-based stays; the 12-month is for nomads who already know Cambodia is their base for the year and want the multi-entry flexibility to slip out to Bangkok or Singapore and back.

Agent fees move with the local market, so we don't quote exact figures here — but the shape is consistent. The 1-month extension carries the highest per-month rate, which makes it poor value for anyone staying more than a few weeks. The 3-month and 6-month extensions are the value sweet spots, where the per-month rate drops sharply. The 12-month extension is the cheapest per day but only pays off if you genuinely use most of it. Match the extension length to your real plan, not your optimistic one.

One timing rule that keeps nomads out of trouble: start the extension paperwork at least 2 weeks before your initial 30-day stay expires. The agent needs 7 to 14 days to return your stamped passport, and cutting it close risks an overstay — the Cambodian penalty is $10 USD per day from day one, payable in cash at the airport on exit. The Cambodia EB visa extension explained guide covers the most common long-stay extension path and how Americans stack it for multi-month stays.

Practical setup: where nomads base and how arrival works

Most American nomads base in one of three places, and the choice shapes which airport you fly into and which extension length makes sense. Phnom Penh is the connectivity and coworking hub — fastest internet, most flights, the densest cafe-and-coworking scene, and the easiest place to deal with an immigration agent for your extension. Siem Reap is the dry-season favorite: cheaper, calmer, walkable, and a short hop from Angkor. Kampot and Kep on the coast draw the slower-paced, longer-stay crowd who want river views over city pace.

Arrival on the Business eVisa is identical to arrival on the Tourist eVisa. Print two copies of the approval PDF — one for entry, one for exit. Carry your US passport with at least 6 months validity. Have your e-Arrival QR code saved to your phone, plus a screenshot for offline access in case the terminal Wi-Fi is slow. Open airports for US arrivals are KTI (Phnom Penh — the new Techo International Airport, which replaced the old PNH on 9 September 2025), SAI (Siem Reap-Angkor), and KOS (Sihanoukville).

A planning note that catches out nomads routing through Thailand: all seven Thailand-Cambodia land borders have been closed since June 2025, so a Bangkok-overland entry does not work in 2026. Land entry is realistic only from Vietnam at Bavet or from Laos at Tropaeng Kreal. If you are building a regional loop, fly into Cambodia rather than relying on a Thai land crossing. The immigration officer may ask the purpose of your visit at the desk — "remote work for a US employer," "freelance work," or "long stay" are all standard answers the Business eVisa explicitly authorizes. The US Embassy in Phnom Penh publishes current entry and local-conditions guidance worth a five-minute read before you fly.

Edge cases, tax reality, and putting it together

A few situations come up often enough among American nomads to flag directly. First, mixing leisure and work on a short trip: if your stay is under 30 days but you will do any work at all, apply for the Business eVisa, not the Tourist. The $10 difference buys you a clean visa class that matches what you are actually doing, and removes any awkwardness if Immigration asks about your trip. The Tourist eVisa is not a catch-all, and stretching it to cover work is the most common mistake we see remote workers make.

Second, the question of US taxes, which nomads ask constantly. Working remotely from Cambodia on a Business eVisa does not change your US tax obligations — American citizens are taxed on worldwide income regardless of where they sit. The Business eVisa is an immigration document, not a tax residency or a work-permit-for-local-employment instrument. If you are taking a salary from a Cambodian company (rather than a US one), that is a different setup involving a local work permit, and you should take professional advice. For the standard nomad — paid by a US or foreign employer or clients, working remotely — the Business eVisa is purely the right to be in the country and work remotely while you are there.

Third, switching classes mid-trip. You cannot convert a Tourist eVisa to a Business eVisa from inside Cambodia. If you arrive on a Tourist eVisa and then decide to stay and work, your options are to exit and re-enter on a fresh Business eVisa, or to leave at the 30-day cap. The clean answer is to apply for the Business eVisa before you fly if there is any chance your stay runs over 30 days or your laptop comes out for work — which, for a nomad, it will.

Putting it together: there is no special nomad visa to hunt for in Cambodia, and you do not need one. Under 30 days of pure leisure runs on the Tourist eVisa at $80 USD. Any work, or any stay over 30 days, means the Business eVisa at $90 USD — approved in 3–5 days, delivered as a printable PDF by email, with free resubmission if Immigration flags a correction, and extendable in-country for as long as you want to stay. When you are ready, you can apply for your Cambodia eVisa online and bookmark the Cambodia visa for US citizens hub as your canonical reference for every step that follows.