Ordinary (Class E) Visa with EB / EG Extension of Stay
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.
This record has not been fully source-checked yet. The headline figures come from secondary sources and some fields are incomplete. Treat it as a starting point and confirm with the embassy before acting.
Requirements at a glance
| 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) |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Extendable | Yes, indefinitely. The EB extension is the renewable long-stay track; the EG extension is not, being aimed at people looking for work and generally not renewed beyond six months. |
| Entries | Multiple |
| 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) |
| Income required | None |
| Savings required | None |
| Deposit required | None |
| Minimum age | None |
| Health insurance | 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 |
| 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 |
What most guides get wrong about the Cambodia business visa / EB visa
Each of these is a rule that changed, or a detail that is widely repeated incorrectly. Checked 11 September 2026.
EG is just the multiple-entry version of the 12-month extension — pay about $30 more and you get one.
EG is a general/job-seeking extension. Acclime states it is "intended for foreigners who are residing in Cambodia while seeking employment", and Move to Cambodia gives it as 1, 3 or 6 months only, generally not renewed beyond that. Multiple entry is not a separate letter code: it is a property of the 6- and 12-month extensions in whichever class you hold. Guides define EG three incompatible ways — job-seeker (Acclime, Move to Cambodia), "Government/Diplomat" (RetireFinder), and a multiple-entry ER variant (Varsovia Estate) — so treat any EG claim you read as unverified until immigration or your agent confirms it. If you intend to stay long term, the category you want is EB, not EG.
The 12-month EB extension costs $285 — that's the government fee.
$285 is the all-in price agents charge, not a published government rate. CambodiaGo puts the official Immigration Department fee for a 12-month multiple-entry extension at about $180 and says agents typically charge $250–$300 for the same thing. RetireFinder repeats the $285 figure as the fee itself, and Cambodia Expats Online quotes $285–$350 via agent. The Immigration Department publishes no clear English price list, so the spread is real: budget $285–$300 if you use an agent and treat any single quoted "official" number as unconfirmed.
The EB is a business visa, so holding one means you can legally work or run a business in Cambodia.
It does not. Acclime: "Even though the foreigner has obtained the EB visa extension, it does not guarantee that the foreigner can work in Cambodia. Work permits and foreign employment cards must also be secured to work in Cambodia legally." Since 2024 this bites at renewal, not just in theory — Cambodia Expats Online lists a valid work permit as required for 6-month and 12-month renewals where you work. The permit is a separate Ministry of Labour process with its own annual fee and its own deadline, and the old practice of buying a 12-month EB and ignoring the labour side is what now gets renewals refused.
Once you've extended your stay you can come and go from Cambodia freely.
Only the 6- and 12-month extensions are multiple-entry. Move to Cambodia: "only the 6- and 12-month visa extension allow multiple entries", and Realestate.com.kh: "Only 6-month and 12-month EB visas are allowed multiple times." A 1- or 3-month extension dies the moment you leave the country — a weekend in Bangkok on a three-month EB means buying a fresh $35 E visa and starting the extension cycle again. People taking the cheap three-month option to spread the cost routinely lose it this way.
The business E visa costs $42 and the tourist visa $36.
Those were the old e-Visa prices. CambodiaGo: "Tourist and business e-visa fees were reduced from $36 / $42 to $30 / $35 on 1 January 2025." The $35 figure matches what the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in Washington D.C. charges for a Type-E visa. Older guides and any figure you get from a model trained before 2025 will still quote $42.
You arrive on the E visa and simply pay for a year — no sponsor involved.
Every route to a 6- or 12-month EB runs through a sponsor. In practice that is a stamped employment letter from a Cambodian company, your own registered Cambodian entity, or an agent's umbrella company, and Varsovia Estate notes that sponsor verification is what stretches the annual extension to 5–10 days. Dependent spouses and children ride on the principal's employer letter. Turning up at immigration with only a passport and cash is the most common reason a 12-month application is bounced down to a one-month extension.
Where it wins
- 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
Where it doesn’t
- The EB extension is not a work authorisation — you still need a Ministry of Labour work permit and foreign employment card to be employed legally
- Since 2024 a valid work permit (or proof of application) is checked before 6- and 12-month EB renewals are granted, so the old "just buy the visa" approach no longer clears immigration
- You need a sponsor: a stamped employment letter from a Cambodian company, your own registered Cambodian entity, or an agent's umbrella company
- One- and three-month extensions are single-entry — leaving the country cancels them and you buy a new visa to come back
- It grants no path to permanent residence or citizenship on its own; you are renting time, one year at a time
- Published fee information is inconsistent and there is no clear official English-language price list, which is exactly why agents can price at $285–$350
- Rules are applied at officer discretion and enforcement has tightened, so what worked for a friend two years ago is weak evidence about this year
Who cannot use this visa
- Wanting to work legally without obtaining a separate work permit and foreign employment card
- Having no Cambodian sponsor at all — no employer, no registered company, no agent arrangement
- Applying for an EG (job-seeker) extension after already spending long periods in Cambodia on previous extensions
- Entering on a tourist (T-class) visa and expecting to convert — the long-stay extensions attach to the ordinary Class-E visa
Recent rule changes
- It does not.
- Those were the old e-Visa prices.
Where these figures come from
Every number above is transcribed from one of the sentences below. We publish the sentence rather than only the link, so you can check it in one click — and so a figure nobody transcribed from anywhere cannot reach this page.
“$ 35 in form of Money Order or Cashier Check only and have it payable to Embassy of Cambodia.”
Backs: governmentFee.amount
“Single entry visa and valid to use or enter Cambodia within three(3) months from the date of issue.”
Backs: governmentFee.qualifier
“Allowed to stay for 30 days upon entering the Country.”
Backs: stayPerEntry
“The Ordinary or Business Visa (E) visa can be extended at the Immigration Department in front of the Phnom Penh Airport for another 1 or 3 months and 6 or 12 months”
Backs: totalValidity, stayPerEntry
“The ordinary visa is initially valid for 30 days. However, it can be extended indefinitely for periods of one month, three months, six months or one year.”
Backs: totalValidity, stayPerEntry
“Even though the foreigner has obtained the EB visa extension, it does not guarantee that the foreigner can work in Cambodia. Work permits and foreign employment cards must also be secured to work in Cambodia legally.”
Backs:
“The EG visa extension is intended for foreigners who are residing in Cambodia while seeking employment.”
Backs:
“The EG visa extension is intended for those searching for employment, and can last 1, 3, or 6 months.”
Backs:
“only the 6- and 12-month visa extension allow multiple entries.”
Backs: stayPerEntry, totalValidity
“if you have an ordinary visa (E class) you can extend it for 1, 3, 6, or 12 months for between $30 and $300 depending on the length of the extension.”
Backs:
“Only 6-month and 12-month EB visas are allowed multiple times.”
Backs: totalValidity
“The processing time is about 3 working days.”
Backs: processingTime
“The EB visa does not give you the right to work in Cambodia. You also need to hold a work certificate issued by the Ministry of Labor.”
Backs:
“Annual extensions involving sponsor verification take 5-10 days.”
Backs: processingTime
“From $45 (1 month) up to $180/year (official Immigration Department fee for a 12-month multiple-entry extension)”
Backs:
“Tourist and business e-visa fees were reduced from $36 / $42 to $30 / $35 on 1 January 2025.”
Backs: governmentFee.amount, governmentFee.qualifier
“Extensions are available in four durations: one month ($45), three months ($75), six months ($155), and twelve months ($285).”
Backs:
“The EG extension (Government/Diplomat) is for government and international organization workers and is not relevant to retirees.”
Backs:
“A 12-month extension (type ER, single-entry) costs approximately 285-300 USD. The multiple-entry variant (EG) adds around 30 USD.”
Backs:
“Valid work permit (required for 6-month and 12-month renewals where you work)”
Backs:
Sources for this page
- Royal Embassy of Cambodia to the USA, Washington D.C. — Business (Type-E) Visaofficial
- Royal Embassy of Cambodia in Thailand — Ordinary or Business Visa (E)official
- Acclime Cambodia — Immigration Guide
- Move to Cambodia — Cambodia visas
- Realestate.com.kh — How to Get a Visa for Cambodia: 2026 Guide
- CambodiaGo — Cambodia Visa Complete Guide 2026
- RetireFinder — Cambodia Retirement Visa Guide 2026
- Varsovia Estate — Cambodia E Visa Extension Guide 2026
- Cambodia Expats Online — The Complete Guide to Cambodia Visas, Extensions & Work Permits in 2026
Last checked 11 September 2026. Requirements are applied at the discretion of individual embassies and can change without notice. Confirm before you book anything.