Tourist E-Visa Vs "Paying at the door" at Siem Reap Airport

Hello.
Apologies if already posted - but have searched all afternoon - and although I see many use the e-Visa (those needing more than 30 days seem to benefit through easy reapplications) - no one has compared the processes.

I am travelling with Hubby to Cambodia soon, and we land at Siem Reap (How do you pronounce that by the way?) Airport. Just a week before we pass into Vietnam (Our passports are at the Vietnamese Embassy as I type).

We have always gone on the notion you can pay on the door at arrivals in Cambodia - with $20USD and a Passport photo is required.

Today we have discovered the E-Visa which is available to purchase online ($27US +$7 Handling fee +$3 credit card charge - so $30 and 2 x passport pics - from the official page.

My questions are -

1) Those that have paid $20 on arrival at Siem Reap - How long was the line at Immigration to process the Tourists Visa there and then? We'll have been on a long flight from the UK - tired, grumpy and sweaty and hungry - and we really don't want to be waiting for over an hour if the e-Visa gives you "fast track service" through immigration.

2) If you do go with the e-Visa - where does this "emailed e-Visa" get stuck in your passport? I "collect" stamps in my passport and love filling it up - so I was just wondering what stamps / notifications/ documents get stapled or printed into your passport? A trivial thing ... I know!

Thanks in advance for any replies. Ideally we just want to arrive and pay on the door like we have in other countries, as it's cheaper and more instant - but now we have this other option - it's all got more confusing.

C x

Let me know how it went, I was going to get the e-visa too, but then I read that at the end if you have to wait for your luggage anyway it's not any faster than getting the visa on arrival, so that's what we're going to do.

Hi Templeton. We don't go for 1.5 months - so I am hoping to get some responses from those that have done e-Visa and Pay on arrival - and we have time to make up our minds.

You make a good point about waiting for luggage too ... seems nothing really gained ... but I'll await replies from those that have flown to Siem Reap to help us make a decision.

If you're flying into SR or PP the Cambodian e-Visa is a complete waste of money! As above, baggage claim is the "Great Equalizer" and chances of saving time is just about, zero. Be sure to have $20USD (CASH) it never hurts to have nice clean bills, and visa pics. Processing is very fast at both airports, you will probably be on you're way to your hotel in less than 30 minutes.

I have done both.

The line for a visa on arrival at Siem Reap Airport goes very quickly. I have done it many times and it has never taken more than 10 minutes. I suppose if you land at the same time as 8 other flights and you take too much time getting to the Immigration area it may be longer. Just be sure to have the application filled out and have your pictures and money ready. If you must save 10 minutes the eVisa allows you to bypass the visa acquisition line and head straight on through. You still need the arrival/departure card filled out which I have seen cause a couple unsuspecting eVisa holders sent back to fill it out thereby losing the hard-earned 10 minute head start. Our Bangkok Air flights handed out visa applications, but never had the arrival/departure card. However, there are stacks of them on tables next to the visa acquisition area. Fill one out after getting the visa and head on to Immigration if your flight does not have them. I've never seen more than 4 or 5 eVisa holders in line ahead of us when arriving at Siem Reap airport. Either way, you still have to collect your luggage after Immigration. In my experience our luggage was already on the belt by the time we got through and those with eVisa still got out to the taxi area a few minutes ahead of us. Dang Them!!! You will get a shiny, full-page Cambodian Visa firmly pasted in to your passport.

The real advantage of the eVisa is when you are crossing the border by land where lines and annoying touts can make the experience a long and hot affair. Just so you know, the eVisa is a paper copy of the visa sent by email after you pay on line and are approved by the powers that be. You make two copies, cut them to size and put them in your passport. Cambodian Immigration will take one copy and stamp the other which you keep and then must be sure not to lose as you need it to leave. I suppose you could later paste the copy into your passport if you must, but I am not sure if that constitutes tampering with your passport or not. It does save space in your passport if you have few pages left. I used it at the Koh Kong border crossing and it did help us get through faster and with less hassle. I would not use it if I was arriving by air.

Sim Rep.

Get the visa on arrival. Pretty quiet now and you will be through in no time. When all went well, I was in the car, with my bags, 15 minutes after touch-down. OK, I have a multiple-entry visa, but many of our guests are just as fast.

I went with Visa on Arrival at Siem Reap airport around three months ago and it was quick and easy. Waste of time doing the E-Visa in my opinion.

1

I frequently fly into Phnom Penh and if possible get a seat near the front of the aircraft so I can be the first in the visa line. One problem you can encounter is when you pass through the immigration desks, I try to join a queue which look to contain middle age western tourists rather than Asian travellers with children

The evisa will save you a page in the passport. This might be important for those with few pages left. For collectors of visa stickers the evisa will be disappointing as you're left with your in and out stamps only.

Otherwise +1, Siem Reap is as easy as it can be.

Wow!
Thanks guys - masses of advice here - and helping me save some money and faffing with emails too.

So from your comments we need to -
-"RUN" to immigration - we can do that - clutching a crisp $20 note and 2 x recent Visa pics each.
-Hope that 8 planes have not landed simultaneously - on the Saturday about 3:30pm local time.
- Wait with those travellers with and without E-Visas to get our luggage.... then frantically find our ground agency rep from Vietlong Travel.

I have one last question - as I have seen differing information - at point of arrival - with our $20 - HOW MANY PICS for the normal on arrival VISA are required?

Some sites and books say 1 picture and others say 2 ... I just want to be sure we have it all correct - so we are not holding ourselves up - along with other fidgety travellers.

Thanks again.
Charley x

Thanks from me too, one more question, do the pictures have to be biometrical or is a normal passport photo good enough?

I think you have it all down, charleygirl76. A couple notes: I seem to remember needing two passport sized pictures, but I may be getting senile. Have two ready just in case. I never run to Immigration, just head straight there, no stopping to look, chatting or picture taking etc. Rarely the first in line (or even 5th for that matter) and it still goes quickly. After handing over your application you can grab an Arrival/Departure card to fill out as you wait for them to call your name if none are handed out on the plane. Relax and have a wonderful time in Cambodia.

You do not have to have pictures, an extra Dollar or two will take care of that. And you do not need to run, you still will be in your car faster than pretty much any other airport in the world. And there are not many flights arriving at that time. Don't stress, it is supposed to be a holiday.

Exactly hanno. Just what is it with SOOOOOOOOOO many of the "travelers" today.

Is it safe - is it clean - how long does it take - is there internet - can i use this piece of techno - does the bus have a.c. - toilets - a barber shop - a mall !!!!

Leave it behind, that's the idea isn't it. Well it used to be.

Interesting to hear you comment that many people go for the E-visa because of easy reapplications. In fact the e-visa is a tourist class visa only and you can reapply for a 1 month extension, once only! If you actually require more reapplications then that without doing a border run, then you have no choice but to pay the extra $5 and obtain an "ordinary"class visa at the start and that is only obtainable as a VOA (or prior, by applying well in advance, in person, to your closest Cambodian embassy)

Thanks again for the info -
Not stressed - just curious as to the pros and cons of these different Visa methods.
I just want to ensure that with the limited time we have in Cambodia - and to get the most out of the trip - we are not needlessly stuck in the wrong line, causing a hold , etc - when we could be out in the open - starting our adventure.

We've gone from 2 photo to 1 photo and now to none ... hmmmm all seems rather bizarre if the photo is not even needed then why mention in in the guide books / official website, etc.

Any ideas ??

Photo IS a requirement, but taking a digital photo at immigration for those that don't have one, is just a little "side business" run by the immigration officers. They make a buck or two, and you save $5-$10 that you might have to pay at home. Everyone wins, and it only takes an extra minute. So, bring photos if you have them, but no worries if you don't.

They don't actually take a photo, just a copy of the passport photo. I do not think it is a sideline as this is official policy.

Yes, I guess I shouldn't have said "photo" but, I've never seen anything on a government website suggesting it was an "official" service. But, in Cambodia, it's whatever the guy in charge says it is.

I'll get some passport photos done - and will take with me - and if I don't need them - will use for my next Visa application to another far flung land.

As an off topic (a bit) - we have just discovered you cannot purchase Cambodian Riel or Vietnamese Dong in the UK ... probably because of the amount of notes that equal £1 .... so we'll be taking dollars - and changing up when we reach each country. Guessing that's the right way / only option .... am I correct Viet/Camb experts?

Know any good outlets in the major cities - non-rip off merchants / scammers - or best to just use our hotels or local banks to get some local money for the smaller purchases / just to experience the real money. Thanks in advance.

Charley x

You do need to bring USD to pay visa fees for both Cambodia and Vietnam. Strange as it seems Cambodia uses the USD for many/most larger transactions, and the local ATMs give you USD. You'll get Cambodian Riel back in change of less than a dollar or so. For Vietnam you can get VND (Dong) from ATMs, or change GBP for VND at banks, or many gold shops. Other than for visa fees, you do not need to change your GBP for USD before you leave, use ATMs and save yourself the exchange fees.
Cambodian Riel and Vietnamese Dong are non-convertible currencies. That's why you can't usually buy them outside their home country, and once you leave their home country it's VERY difficult to exchange them for any other currency.

I cannot understand why in 2014 travellers would consider taking large amounts of cash with them instead of using ATM's ok I know that you will be charged a fee but surely this is much better than taking the risk of loss or theft. I am old enough to have travelled in the days before ATM's and spent four months wandering Asia with a money belt stuffed with travellers cheques which could on occasions be extremely difficult to cash and subject to a huge commission rate also large amounts of cash. One of the biggest problems was when you wanted to go swimming, what the hell did you do with your money belt?