How to Apply for a Cambodia Visa in San Francisco

UPDATED March 25, 2022

San Francisco, known as the “City by the Bay”, is one of America’s most famous and beautiful cities.  Located in Northern California, San Francisco is just one of the many cities that together make up the San Francisco Bay Area, or Bay Area for short.  The 14-county combined statistical area (that comprises the Bay Area) has nearly 10 million people, making it the fifth-most populous region in the United States.  The Bay Area includes cities such as Oakland, Berkeley, Hayward, Vallejo, Concord, Pleasanton, Fremont, San Jose, San Mateo, Palo Alto, and San Rafael.  From the early days of the California Gold Rush to modern times with the growth of Silicon Valley, the Bay Area has a long history of attracting immigrants and adventure-seekers from all over the world, including newcomers from Asia.  Cambodians first came to San Francisco in the 1950s as college students, and then larger groups came during the 1970s as refugees fleeing their country’s civil war.  There are now 15,000 Cambodians in the Bay Area and about 25,000 in the San Joaquin Valley.  Stockton, Modesto, and Fresno all have Cambodian Buddhist temples along with several authentic Cambodian restaurants.  San Francisco is home to the Cambodian School of San Francisco, an organization teaching Khmer language and culture. 

Cambodia is a country in Southeast Asia bordered by Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and the Gulf of Thailand.  Although Cambodia has a turbulent history of foreign occupation and a genocide that left over 2 million dead, this is a country that has developed rapidly in recent years and now has modern infrastructure to accommodate foreign tourists.  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 center of Khmer culture where tourists can visit the Cambodia National Museum and Royal Palace.  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 visitors can get to know the easy-going and friendly nature of Cambodians.  Enjoy a milk tea and pastry at a local café in the morning and take a stroll along the Sangker River at sunset to take in the scenery.  Tourists from San Francisco will also enjoy visiting Cambodia’s beautiful beaches on the island of Koh Rong.  And of course, no visit to Cambodia is complete without a tour of Angkor Wat near the city of Siem Reap.

Obtaining a Cambodia Visa from San Francisco

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 Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Los Angeles.  To apply for a visa from San Francisco, you will fill out the visa application and bring your original passport and supporting documents to their office in Los Angeles.  You also have the option of shipping your passport and application materials to their office by FedEx, UPS, or USPS.  Here is the address:

Royal Consulate General of Cambodia
3444 East Anaheim Street
Long Beach, CA 90804

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 5 business days to process through the consulate 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 consulate 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, please use their express mail service where a tracking number is provided. 

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 San Francisco 

If you are a citizen of Cambodia living in the San Francisco Bay Area with an emergency or require urgent assistance, you can reach the Cambodian consulate in Los Angeles by calling 562-494-3000.  The consulate’s email address is Cambodian.hcg.ca@gmail.com.  If you need to renew your Cambodian passport, you can apply in person at the consulate’s office. 

We Can Help if You Need Assistance

If you live in San Francisco or anywhere in Northern California 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