Cambodia business visa / EB visa vs TRC
Cambodia's ordinary Class-E visa costs $35 from an embassy or as an e-Visa, gives a single entry and 30 days on arrival, and is the gateway to the only genuinely open-ended long-stay route in Southeast Asia: once inside, you convert it to an extension of stay (EOS) of one, three, six or twelve months, repeatable indefinitely. The twelve-month EB (business) extension is the one almost every foreign resident uses — employees, business owners, freelancers and their spouses and children — and it is multiple-entry, while one- and three-month extensions are single-entry only. Expect roughly $285–$300 through an agent against a quoted official Immigration Department fee of about $180 for the 12-month multiple-entry extension; the EB does not by itself let you work legally, and since 2024 immigration checks for a work permit before granting 6- and 12-month EB renewals. Vietnam's Temporary Residence Card is not a visa you apply for from abroad — it is an upgrade granted after you are already in Vietnam on a qualifying visa, and only a sponsoring company, investment or family member can file it for you. Validity is capped by the card's symbol: ĐT1 investor cards run up to 10 years, NG3/LV1/LV2/LS/ĐT2/DH up to 5 years, NN1/NN2/ĐT3/TT up to 3 years, and the LĐ1/LĐ2 employment cards most foreign workers actually hold up to 2 years, always at least 30 days shorter than your passport. The state fee is USD 145 per card up to 2 years, USD 155 for over 2 to 5 years and USD 165 for over 5 to 10 years, with a 5-working-day statutory decision window.
| Cambodia business visa / EB visa | TRC | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | cambodia | vietnam |
| Stay per entry | 30 days on the initial Class-E visa; after an extension of stay, 1, 3, 6 or 12 months depending on the EOS granted (only the 6- and 12-month extensions allow re-entry) | Continuous residence for the whole validity of the card. You do not accrue a per-entry stay limit and there are no border runs; the card replaces the visa for the period it covers. |
| Total validity | Indefinite — the ordinary visa can be extended for one month, three months, six months or one year, repeatedly, with no cap on renewals | Depends entirely on the card symbol: ĐT1 up to 10 years; NG3, LV1, LV2, LS, ĐT2 and DH up to 5 years; NN1, NN2, ĐT3 and TT up to 3 years; LĐ1, LĐ2 and PV1 up to 2 years. Since 1 July 2026 the new UĐ1 and UĐ2 cards also run up to 10 years. Every card must be at least 30 days shorter than the remaining validity of your passport, so a passport with 18 months left caps even a 10-year entitlement at about 17 months. |
| Government fee | $35 — For the Class-E (ordinary/business) visa itself at a Cambodian embassy or as an e-Visa; the EB/EG extension of stay inside Cambodia is charged separately (see gotchas — official vs agent pricing is disputed) | $145 — Per card, for a TRC valid no more than 2 years — the tier that covers the LĐ1/LĐ2 employment cards most foreign workers get. USD 155 for over 2 to 5 years, USD 165 for over 5 to 10 years. Set by Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC, in force 1 April 2026. Excludes the work permit, the sponsor's paperwork and any agent fee. |
| Income required | None | None |
| Savings required | None | None |
| Deposit required | None | ₫100,000,000,000 — Not a refundable deposit — this is the capital contribution that buys the longest card. VND 100 billion or more (or investment in an incentivised business line or locality) gets you an ĐT1 visa and so the 10-year ĐT1 TRC. VND 50bn–under 100bn is ĐT2 (5-year card), VND 3bn–under 50bn is ĐT3 (3-year card), and under VND 3bn is ĐT4, which gets no TRC at all. |
| Minimum age | None | None |
| Health insurance | Not required | Not required |
| Processing time | About 3 working days for short extensions; 5–10 days for a 12-month extension where the sponsor has to be verified | 5 working days from receipt of a complete dossier, by statute. In practice provincial immigration offices commonly take 5 to 10 working days, and the clock only starts once the file is accepted as complete — an incomplete dossier is handed back rather than queued. |
| Apply from | Class-E visa from a Cambodian embassy/consulate abroad or e-Visa online (or visa on arrival at Phnom Penh and Siem Reap airports); the EB/EG extension is applied for inside Cambodia at the General Department of Immigration opposite Phnom Penh International Airport, usually through an agent |
Choose the Cambodia business visa / EB visa if
- No income, savings, deposit or age requirement is published for the EB extension — unusual for an open-ended residence route in the region
- Renewable with no lifetime cap: the ordinary visa "can be extended indefinitely" in 1, 3, 6 or 12-month blocks
- The 12-month EB is multiple-entry, so you can leave and return without reapplying
- Covers a wide population in one category — employees, business owners, freelancers, volunteers, and dependent spouses and children
- Cheap by regional standards: roughly $285–$300 a year all-in through an agent, versus thousands for comparable Thai or Malaysian long-stay options
- Turnaround is days, not months, and the whole process happens inside Cambodia
Choose the TRC if
- Acts as a multiple-entry residence permit — you leave and re-enter Vietnam freely for the life of the card with no visa run, no extension stamps and no per-entry day count
- Genuinely long: an ĐT1 investor card runs up to 10 years, longer than almost any comparable Southeast Asian residence permit
- Cheap by regional standards — USD 145 to USD 165 in state fees for the whole multi-year term, not per year
- A holder can sponsor a TT card for a spouse and children under 18, keeping the family on one legal footing
- Statutory 5-working-day decision window, and applications are filed at the provincial immigration office where your sponsor is based rather than requiring a trip to Hanoi
Cambodia business visa / EB visa last checked 11 September 2026; TRC last checked 11 September 2026. Sources are listed on each visa page.