Cambodia's 14-Day Visa-Free Trial for Chinese Travelers Runs Through Oct. 15

Cambodia is running a temporary visa-free entry pilot for certain Chinese passport holders that ends on Oct. 15. The four-month trial, which began June 15, lets eligible travelers skip the visa application and fee, but the wider visa-free access being discussed for European and other markets has not been approved.

What changed

During the pilot, passport holders from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao can enter without a visa for stays of up to 14 days. Taiwan is excluded. Multiple entries are allowed, but each visit is capped at 14 days, and travelers must arrive before Oct. 15 to qualify.

Even without a visa, entrants still need to complete Cambodia's E-Arrival Card and pass standard immigration checks. Unless the government formally extends the exemption, arrivals after Oct. 15 will revert to the usual rules — an e-Visa or visa on arrival.

For everyone else, nothing has changed. Travelers from the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea still need an e-Visa or visa on arrival. Cambodia's existing exemptions for several Southeast Asian countries and a handful of other nationalities also remain in place.

What it means for nomads

If you hold a Chinese, Hong Kong or Macao passport and are considering a short trip, this is a narrow window to enter fee-free before mid-October. For everyone else, the practical takeaway is that Cambodia has not opened the door wider yet.

Officials have floated visa-free stays of 15 to 45 days for European travelers coming for tourism, business or cultural reasons, but no decree, country list or start date has been published. Separately, EuroCham Cambodia has recommended visa-free stays of up to 30 days through Dec. 31, 2027 for Europe, the US, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Both remain industry proposals, not government policy.

Long-stayers still need proper visas

Crucially, none of this replaces Cambodia's long-stay system. The China pilot is aimed at short tourist visits. Remote workers and expats planning to stay beyond a short trip still need an E-class ordinary visa and, where applicable, a work permit under Cambodia's residency rules.

EuroCham has also proposed a three- to six-month live-and-work pathway for remote professionals as an on-ramp before the standard E-class and work-permit process, but Cambodia has not approved or published that pathway either. For now, nomads eyeing Cambodia as a base should plan around the existing E-class route rather than any anticipated visa-free expansion.

Originally reported by Stamped Nomad.