How to Apply for a Cambodia Visa in Chicago : visasupply.com

UPDATED March 25, 2022

Chicago is America’s third-most-populous city and its metropolitan area, known as Chicagoland, has a population approaching 10 million people. Chicago is a vibrant international city with a robust economy that is the corporate headquarters for 57 Fortune 1000 companies. While manufacturing and food processing provide a strong foundation for its economy, the city is also an important financial center and is home to the Chicago Stock Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The Chicago metropolitan area covers 14 counties across three states—Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin—and includes cities like Aurora, Naperville, Joliet, Elgin, Waukegan, Cicero, Skokie, Gary (Indiana), and Kenosha (Wisconsin). Chicago has a long tradition of attracting people from all over the world in search of a better life. Cambodian refugees came to Chicago starting in 1975 to escape the brutal violence in their country that killed two million people. In 1976 they formed the Cambodian Association of Illinois, an organization that preserves and teaches Khmer culture and history to the younger generation of Cambodian-Americans in Chicago. The organization also hosts a museum celebrating Cambodian culture and memorializing the Cambodian Genocide.

Cambodia is a country in Southeast Asia bordered by Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and the Gulf of Thailand. Cambodia’s land area is 20% larger than the state of Illinois and its population of 17 million people is composed mostly of Khmer people. Phnom Penh is the country’s capital and most populous city with 2.3 million residents. Phnom Penh, sitting on the banks of the Mekong River, is also the commercial capital of Cambodia and the center of Khmer culture where tourists can visit the Cambodia National Museum, the Royal Palace, Wat Phnom, and Toul Tom Poung Market. The city has an element of sophistication and style with its French colonial architecture, luxury hotels, and trendy restaurants. Cambodia’s third largest city, Battambang, is one of the best destinations in the country for enjoying French colonial architecture. This is a slower-moving city where Chicagoans can get to know the easy-going and friendly nature of Cambodian people. Enjoy a milk tea and pastry at a local café in the morning and take a stroll along the Sangker River at sunset to soak up the scenery. Tourists from Chicago will also enjoy visiting Cambodia’s idyllic beaches on the island of Koh Rong. Of course, no tour of Cambodia is complete until making a visit to Angkor Wat, the country’s most popular tourist attraction.

Obtaining a Cambodia Visa from Chicago

Cambodia E-Visas are issued by the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and can be obtained through the following website: eVisa Kingdom of Cambodia (Official Government Website).

Traditional sticker visas (the visa placed in one of the pages of your passport) for Cambodia are issued by the Cambodian government in the United States. The government of Cambodia is represented by their embassy in Washington, D.C. along with four honorary consulates located in Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, and Philadelphia. To apply for a visa from Chicago, you will fill out the visa application and bring your original passport and supporting documents to their office in Washington, D.C. (by appointment only). You also have the option of shipping your passport and application materials to the embassy by FedEx, UPS, or USPS. Here is the address:

Royal Embassy of Cambodia/ VISA
4530 16th Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20011

It is important to review the requirements for visas on the Cambodian embassy website and ensure your application and all supporting documents are accurate. Here is the link to the embassy website with detailed information: How to Get a Visa to Cambodia (embassyofcambodiadc.org)

Visas generally take about 2 weeks to process through the embassy and the visa fee (for U.S. citizens) is $30 for tourists and $35 for businesspeople. Be sure to include a self-addressed FedEx or UPS prepaid envelope and make note of the tracking number so the embassy can return your passport and visa to your home or office. The consulate does not accept FedEx or UPS shipping labels where the account or credit card information has been written in -- all return airbills must be pre-paid. You can also use the United States Postal Service (USPS), however, FedEx or UPS is the preferred method for shipping important documents (such as a passport). If you decide to use USPS, you must use their express mail service where a tracking number is provided. More information can be found here: SendByMail/ VISA (embassyofcambodiadc.org)

Other things to consider:

All U.S. citizens require a visa to enter Cambodia and they must have a valid passport that does not expire within six months of their date of entry into Cambodia.
Cambodia has resumed the Visa on Arrival service for all travelers entering by air, land and water.
The E-Visa can only be used to gain access to the country through specific entry points. Please review the list of entry points on the E-Visa website: eVisa Kingdom of Cambodia (Official Government Website)
Cambodia now requires applicants applying for a tourist visa to obtain health insurance with coverage of at least $50,000. Health insurance can be purchased from this website: https://www.forteinsurance.com/covid-19-insurance/.
Cambodia also has new entry and quarantine requirements based on the traveler’s purpose of visit and vaccination status. Please review the latest requirements on this website: ARRIVAL PROCEDURE (embassyofcambodiadc.org)
For the latest updates regarding the virus situation, please review the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia website: COVID-19 Information - U.S. Embassy in Cambodia (usembassy.gov)
It is recommended to purchase travel insurance before any international trip in case of medical emergencies. We advise getting the Geo Blue Voyager Single Trip Plan.

Emergency Assistance for Cambodian Citizens in Chicago

If you are a citizen of Cambodia living in the Chicago area with an emergency or require urgent assistance, you can reach the Cambodian embassy in Washington, D.C. by calling 202-997-7031 (in Khmer language) or 202-726-7742. The consular section’s email address is consular.camemb.usa@gmail.com. If you need to renew your Cambodian passport, you can either apply in person (by appointment only using this link: SendbyWalk-in/Appointment (embassyofcambodiadc.org)) or send your application materials to the embassy by FedEx, UPS, or USPS. More information can be found using this link: Cambodian Passport Extensions (embassyofcambodiadc.org)

We Can Help if You Need Assistance

If you live in Chicago or anywhere in the state of Illinois, Wisconsin, or Indiana and have difficulty applying for a Cambodia visa or require assistance with any part of the visa process, please give our office a call at 404-682-5445 or schedule an appointment with our company. We are a private agency in Atlanta providing Cambodia visa services for Americans and other U.S.-based residents. Our number one goal is to ensure your application documents for a visa are submitted accurately to the Cambodian government. Our services eliminate delays and give you the peace of mind to focus on your travel plans.

We provide the following Cambodia visa services for our customers:

Cambodia Tourist Visa
Cambodia Business Visa
Cambodia Official Duty Visa
Cambodia Diplomatic Visa
Cambodia Courtesy Visa
Cambodia Khmer Visa (for Cambodians holding valid foreign passports)
Cambodia Hotel Accommodations