Cambodia Ends Sticker Visas in All Embassies and Consulates, Reason Emerges
- Cambodia officially stopped issuing sticker visas at all its diplomatic and consular missions abroad from October 3, 2026
- The Royal Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok confirmed that all visas are now issued electronically, though in-person applications are still accepted at some missions
- Cambodia laid the groundwork for the switch as far back as August 1, 2026, when it expanded its e-Visa platform and replaced barcodes with QR codes
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Cambodia has ended the issuance of sticker visas at all its diplomatic and consular missions worldwide, marking a full shift to electronic visa issuance effective October 3, 2026.
The Royal Cambodian Embassy in Berlin confirmed the transition, while the Honorary Consulate of Cambodia in Osaka offered further detail, noting that "in accordance with the official directives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia (MFAIC), the issuance of Cambodian visas in the form of stickers has been suspended as of Saturday, October 3, 2026 in all embassies and consulates abroad."
Source: Getty Images
What the change means for travellers
The reform affects how visas are issued, not necessarily how applications are submitted. Passports will no longer carry a physical visa sticker, but some missions are still accepting in-person applications.
The Royal Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok, for instance, said it continues to receive applications at its consular section in person, even though the visa issued at the end of the process is now entirely electronic.
The Honorary Consulate in Osaka has taken a different approach, directing travellers and travel agencies to submit all applications through the official Cambodia e-Visa portal, with no further physical processing at the counter.
This means the application procedure may still differ depending on which Cambodian mission a traveller approaches, but the outcome is uniform: no sticker will be placed in any passport.
Groundwork laid in August 2026
The October change did not come without warning. On August 1, 2026, Cambodian authorities expanded the e-Visa platform to cover three additional visa categories that had previously not been available online.
These were the "A" visa for diplomatic passport holders, the "B" visa for official travel, and the "C" visa used for courtesy visits. They joined existing electronic categories, including the "T" visa for tourism and the "E" visa for ordinary or professional stays.
On that same date, Cambodia also updated the format of its e-Visa certificate, replacing the traditional barcode with a QR code to improve document security and make verification easier at entry points.
Together, those August updates set the stage for the complete removal of physical sticker visas from consular counters, which took effect two months later.
Scam operations in Cambodia exposed
Legit.ng earlier reported that Trafficked, beaten and locked up far from his family in China, Lu was one of thousands of people in Cambodia forced to operate online scams to line their captors' pockets. Covid shutdowns had left the builder out of work, so when he heard he could earn $2,000 a month on a construction project in Cambodia, he jumped at the chance.
But he soon realised he had been lured by a scamming gang to a compound in the seaside resort of Sihanoukville, along with hundreds of others.
Source: Legit.ng
