Cambodia to trial visa-free policy for Chinese citizens from mid-2026

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia will trial a policy granting visa exemption for Chinese citizens from June 15 to Oct. 15, 2026, said an official letter on Tuesday.

Signed by Hing Thoraxy, a standing secretary of state of Cambodia's Council of Ministers, the letter said the royal government agreed in principle to provide a trial visa waiver for Chinese citizens traveling from China, allowing a stay of 14 days.

"During a four-month trial period from June 15 to Oct. 15, 2026, they do not need to apply for a visa, nor to pay a fee. They just simply fill in an E-arrival card," the letter said.

"During the valid period of the implementation, Chinese visitors can visit Cambodia as many times as they want," it added.

The letter also allowed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to negotiate with the Chinese government to ease and simplify visa application procedures for Cambodian tourists to China in order to achieve the implementation of reciprocal visa exemptions in the future.

Thourn Sinan, chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association Cambodia chapter, welcomed the move, saying it would attract more Chinese tourists, businesspeople and investors to Cambodia.

"This is good news that we are waiting for," he told Xinhua on Wednesday. "I believe that this visa exemption will provide us a satisfactory result."

China is the third-biggest source of foreign holidaymakers to the Southeast Asian country after Thailand and Vietnam.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia attracted about 1 million Chinese tourists during the January-October period of 2025.