Retirement Visa for Cambodia?

[cigar7]

Does Cambodia have a retirement visa, similar to Thailand? What is the recommended visa for old people (50+ or 60+) who want to stay long-time(1 year or more) in Cambodia?

[phuketrichard]

NO

u can get a business visa on arrival for $35 valid for 1 month and extend it for a year in country for apx $290, Before ( last month) nothng was needed as far as money in the bak or any paperwork.

BUT they are going thru an upheaval now an requiring people with this extension to have WP's ( cost about $100 an medical checkup/blood test)

times they are achanging

I expect in a few months u will see the announcement of a retirement visa.

[northernjohn]

So I as a retired person would not be able to get a visa for the purpose of living in Cambodia full time with out some sort of work real or imagined involved?

[TheSiemReaper]

Sorry, this isn't true. You can get a business visa for $35 on entry and then a 1 year version (multiple entry) costs $285. If you are not working, you do not need a work permit (despite all the expat scare stories... there's no evidence whatsoever that Khmer authorities are cracking down on those not working - take it from me, I have a business visa and no work permit - no-one has knocked on my door to ask me for one, no-one has been asked when renewing a business visa for a copy of their work permit and no-one has been asked for a work permit to exit/enter the country).

Do I think it's likely that there will be a retirement visa one day? Possibly but given the pace of change here - we're talking years not months. As for the work permit, you can use a fixer to arrange one if it turns out you do need one (unlikely) and it will cost less than $300 including fixer fees. Still cheaper than a Thai retirement visa and there are no requirements to put any cash in a Cambodian bank account.

[phuketrichard]

....Still cheaper than a Thai retirement visa

a thai 1 year EXTENSION is only 1,900 baht $54 good for a1 year stay in Thailand

a multiple re entry permit ( so u can come and go as u please) is another 3,800 $108 so total $162

ONLY 1,000 baht for a single re entry

so how is the Cambodian extension at $285/year cheaper??

[TheSiemReaper]

....Still cheaper than a Thai retirement visa

a thai 1 year EXTENSION is only 1,900 baht $54 good for a1 year stay in Thailand

a multiple re entry permit ( so u can come and go as u please) is another 3,800 $108 so total $162

ONLY 1,000 baht for a single re entry

so how is the Cambodian extension at $285/year cheaper??

Yeah, if you do it legally... my experience is that most don't and are paying 25K Baht (no permit) for their retirement visas in Thailand...

[shirtless]

I moved to Cambodia and have the 1 year business visa no immigration involved no 90 day reports its way better than Thailand,

[phuketrichard]

....Still cheaper than a Thai retirement visa

a thai 1 year EXTENSION is only 1,900 baht $54 good for a1 year stay in Thailand

a multiple re entry permit ( so u can come and go as u please) is another 3,800 $108 so total $162

ONLY 1,000 baht for a single re entry

so how is the Cambodian extension at $285/year cheaper??

Yeah, if you do it legally... my experience is that most don't and are paying 25K Baht (no permit) for their retirement visas in Thailand...

interesting, i know many Farangs on retirement extensions and not one has an agent do it for them, its so simple

[TheSiemReaper]

Last time I was in Bangkok I was sat with a group of 20 men who had just renewed theirs via an agent. (Who amusingly also got them locked out of Malaysia by using his own fingerprints to obtain entry/exit stamps for their passports).

[Sheryl]

....Still cheaper than a Thai retirement visa

a thai 1 year EXTENSION is only 1,900 baht $54 good for a1 year stay in Thailand

a multiple re entry permit ( so u can come and go as u please) is another 3,800 $108 so total $162

ONLY 1,000 baht for a single re entry

so how is the Cambodian extension at $285/year cheaper??

Ah but add to the Thai visa fees the cost of travel to immigration in person each year, which if there is no office in your province, can be considerable . And that's not even going into collecting the required documentation first, which can likewise (for those of us living out in the boondocks) run into significant time and travel. The entire affair, including preliminary trip to the bank to get the bank letter, takes 2-3 days of my life every year and at least 1,500 baht in fuel.

Compared to just handing your passport to the nearest travel agent....

[DavePerkes]

The Business visa does not excist. Its an Ordinary Visa which at present covers anyone long term work or non work. as stated earlier a work permit is not needed if you are not working.

Retirement Visas do not exxcist yet. But I do expect this to happen sometime?

[Sheryl]

Yes, rumor is that they will happen. But no idea when.

[tropo]

Does anyone have any info about how a married foreign couple could stay long term? Would we both need to get the Business Visas for $285 each, or do they have another arrangement for married couples? My wife is Filipino, I'm Australian.

Right now we live in Thailand on retirement extensions.

[TheSiemReaper]

Does anyone have any info about how a married foreign couple could stay long term? Would we both need to get the Business Visas for $285 each, or do they have another arrangement for married couples? My wife is Filipino, I'm Australian.

Right now we live in Thailand on retirement extensions.

2 x Business Visas and 2 x Work Permits (which are now being enforced). There are no family arrangements and no retirement specific options.

That's $35 (plus possibly a very small bribe) each on landing for a month, than $290 each for the 1 year extension (multi-entry and can be extended in country forever) and $150 each for the work permit.

There is no 90 day reporting. There is no requirement to leave Cambodia.You will not have to do a health check - but you will pay for it as part of your $150 for the work permit.

You must buy the ordinary (business) visa from Cambodian immigration on arrival in Cambodia. DO NOT try and buy it in Thailand or at the border from a tout. If you do - you will end up with a tourist visa which can only be extended for a single month and then you will have to do a border run.

[jpinx]

....Still cheaper than a Thai retirement visa

a thai 1 year EXTENSION is only 1,900 baht $54 good for a1 year stay in Thailand

a multiple re entry permit ( so u can come and go as u please) is another 3,800 $108 so total $162

ONLY 1,000 baht for a single re entry

so how is the Cambodian extension at $285/year cheaper??

Ah but add to the Thai visa fees the cost of travel to immigration in person each year, which if there is no office in your province, can be considerable . And that's not even going into collecting the required documentation first, which can likewise (for those of us living out in the boondocks) run into significant time and travel. The entire affair, including preliminary trip to the bank to get the bank letter, takes 2-3 days of my life every year and at least 1,500 baht in fuel.

Compared to just handing your passport to the nearest travel agent....

TOTAL cost of Thai retirement visa is less. If you start talking about adding cost of travel to an immigration office, then you also need to add the cost of travel to a travel agent - if you live in the wilds of Cambodia. Going to collect the required documents ? You can ask for the letter of income by email and they post it to you, and you need to fill in the application form for the annual extension. Really? How hard is it -- and how cheap? 1900 baht for the renewal once a year. Does the Cambodian visa include re-entries? In Thailand you can get a mulitple re-entry stamp at the same time you renew the extension - cost 3800Baht and still loads cheaper than Cambodia, and no fixer to bother you for "extras" or "lose" your passport

I only post like this to highlight the tendency to not really make proper comparisons.

[tropo]

....Still cheaper than a Thai retirement visa

a thai 1 year EXTENSION is only 1,900 baht $54 good for a1 year stay in Thailand

a multiple re entry permit ( so u can come and go as u please) is another 3,800 $108 so total $162

ONLY 1,000 baht for a single re entry

so how is the Cambodian extension at $285/year cheaper??

Ah but add to the Thai visa fees the cost of travel to immigration in person each year, which if there is no office in your province, can be considerable . And that's not even going into collecting the required documentation first, which can likewise (for those of us living out in the boondocks) run into significant time and travel. The entire affair, including preliminary trip to the bank to get the bank letter, takes 2-3 days of my life every year and at least 1,500 baht in fuel.

Compared to just handing your passport to the nearest travel agent....

TOTAL cost of Thai retirement visa is less. If you start talking about adding cost of travel to an immigration office, then you also need to add the cost of travel to a travel agent - if you live in the wilds of Cambodia. Going to collect the required documents ? You can ask for the letter of income by email and they post it to you, and you need to fill in the application form for the annual extension. Really? How hard is it -- and how cheap? 1900 baht for the renewal once a year. Does the Cambodian visa include re-entries? In Thailand you can get a mulitple re-entry stamp at the same time you renew the extension - cost 3800Baht and still loads cheaper than Cambodia, and no fixer to bother you for "extras" or "lose" your passport

I only post like this to highlight the tendency to not really make proper comparisons.

I'll be feeling the difference. In Thailand, as a married couple, we pay 1900 x 2 plus plus about 1000 for income letter at embassy in BKK (including travel). We leave on average once a year, so 1000 x 2 for re-entry permits. Total, average, 4800 baht for the 2 of us per year. Cambodia will be about 30,450 baht per year. Advantage - can work. No proof of funds or an income letter required.

For people under the retirement age or without the 800k or sufficient retirement income, it's a good deal. Beats trying to get tourist visas or education visas.

[Sheryl]

Not everyone uses the monthly income method (I don't) and even for those who do, not all Embassies will email it.

Tropo - how does Cambodian visa become 30,450 baht? It is much less than that. $290*2 = about 21,000 baht.

You do not need work permit if you are not working in Cambodia.

The one year extension includes unlimited entries.

Cambodia visa is still more expensive than Thai visa if only cost and not time is considered, though. Takes substantially less time to get. So a lot depends on whether you have more time than money.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

If Cambodia were to add a formal retirement visa to their system, and if Thailand as currently seems the case continues going downhill (at least from a western perspective), it would be interesting to see what kind of shifts such a change might cause in expat residency.

As has been discussed elsewhere before, Cambodia is hardly idyllic and has its own flaws/failings (including a currently substandard medical system, certainly compared to Thailand). But at present, the Thai government and various parts of society seem to be working extraordinarily hard to make Thailand an increasingly unappealing place.

[mrdome]

Tropo - how does Cambodian visa become 30,450 baht? It is much less than that. $290*2 = about 21,000 baht.

You do not need work permit if you are not working in Cambodia.

Although some still make it out that the WP is optional, when they show up at your door, as they have in some places and tell you that you must have it, it really isn't. LOL. I also would not be in a hurry/volunteer to get one if I was really not working but just keep some funds saved for this and factor it in (there have been stories of immigration asking for back payments based on number of Ordinary Visas in a passport.

The figure given, although looking really high, is actually correct (when factoring the WP in). Figure $430 total for 1 year visa + health check + WP = 15,300 THB per person.

[Sheryl]

Not only is a WP not necessary if you are not working, it is not possible to get AFAIK if you don't have an employer.

Plenty of retired people living in Camb without work permits. If anyone questions it, you just explain that you are retired and not employed. As long as this is true, no problem.

[tropo]

Not everyone uses the monthly income method (I don't) and even for those who do, not all Embassies will email it.

Tropo - how does Cambodian visa become 30,450 baht? It is much less than that. $290*2 = about 21,000 baht.

You do not need work permit if you are not working in Cambodia.

The one year extension includes unlimited entries.

Cambodia visa is still more expensive than Thai visa if only cost and not time is considered, though. Takes substantially less time to get. So a lot depends on whether you have more time than money.

I have been informed (by another member) that work permits are being enforced for business visa holders. If I don't need those, then I can trim $300 from my original estimate and pay about 20,000 baht as you mentioned... which would be a nice saving,

[TheSiemReaper]

Not everyone uses the monthly income method (I don't) and even for those who do, not all Embassies will email it.

Tropo - how does Cambodian visa become 30,450 baht? It is much less than that. $290*2 = about 21,000 baht.

You do not need work permit if you are not working in Cambodia.

The one year extension includes unlimited entries.

Cambodia visa is still more expensive than Thai visa if only cost and not time is considered, though. Takes substantially less time to get. So a lot depends on whether you have more time than money.

I have been informed (by another member) that work permits are being enforced for business visa holders. If I don't need those, then I can trim $300 from my original estimate and pay about 20,000 baht as you mentioned... which would be a nice saving,

They are being enforced and they can be bought from a travel agent - Lucky Lucky in Phnom Penh.

[mike2011]

I m interested in this enforcing of the work permit. Does anyhow have own experiences or direct info (as opposed to someone told someone who...). I m not doubting the posting, just interested in it as it would concern me.

[Sheryl]

Work permits are being enforced for those working.

There is no legal requirement to have a WP if you are not working.

TV members report - recently - getting the one year extension without one with no problem.

[jpinx]

Does the Cambodia "business" visa allow you to leave and re-enter during it's validity, and if so, how many times and at what cost?

[mrdome]

Old Hand, the 6 and 12 month extensions are multiple entry. No limit and no cost.

[mrdome]

Old Hand, the 6 and 12 month extensions are multiple entry. No limit and no cost.

Just so that there's no misunderstanding.

*No cost for leaving and entering*, the visas themselves do cost $$$ ($285 for the 12 month extension, I think, giving you a full 13 months, regardless of date you requested the extension on-I've headed to LuckyLucky straight from the airport, freshly arrived and they added the full 30 days for the initial length of the Ordinary visa).

[jpinx]

Old Hand, the 6 and 12 month extensions are multiple entry. No limit and no cost.

Just so that there's no misunderstanding.

*No cost for leaving and entering*, the visas themselves do cost $$$ ($285 for the 12 month extension, I think, giving you a full 13 months, regardless of date you requested the extension on-I've headed to LuckyLucky straight from the airport, freshly arrived and they added the full 30 days for the initial length of the Ordinary visa).

Thanks for that clarification It'll suit some people, but if you have no problem with doing a few papers and emails yourself, the Thai retirement extension based on income works out like this. 1900Baht for the extension, 3800 for multiple re-entries and 1800 for the embassy's income letter. Total 7500 Baht = approx US$250

[Sheryl]

Again, cannot be done by email at all Embassies. Embassy charges may vary from one Embassy to another, and not everyone qualifies for/uses the income method.

But in any case, certainly the Thai retirement extension costs a little less. But not by very much in the example just given. ($35 difference).

Actually the 800,000 in the bank is cheaper as banks charge very little for their letters - I think 100 baht at my bank. A hassle for me to get, but easier for those living in Bangkok and other places close to their bank and where the bank is used to it. (I have to newly explain the concept each year.)

No matter how you slice it, it comes down to more expenditure of time and less of cash in Thailand and vice versa in Cambodia.

I don't think the difference is sufficient to be a deciding factor in where to live for anyone who qualifies for retirement extension in Thailand. For people who don't so qualify, Camb currently has an edge but I expect they will tighten that eventually.

[TheSiemReaper]

Work permits are being enforced for those working.

There is no legal requirement to have a WP if you are not working.

TV members report - recently - getting the one year extension without one with no problem.

Getting a visa extension isn't the issue, Sheryl. Door-to-door enforcement by immigration is. I used to argue that you don't need one... then immigration turned up on my doorstep and demanded one about a month before I moved to Chiang Mai. They wanted to fine me and for me to pay for the work permit (including arrears) and my "I don't work" (which is true) landed on deaf ears.

In the end we settled on a $50 bribe as I was leaving the country (and wouldn't give them the original of my passport - just a photocopy - so they couldn't take it). Work permits have become necessary whether you work or not in Cambodia. They are easy to obtain now - from a travel agent just like the business visa (which almost nobody qualifies for properly either).