e-Visa Users Feedback
We hope to hear from you if you have any feedback and comment on the Cambodia e-Visa experience.
- What do you think about the online application and customer service?
- Were you satisfied with the service during the e-Visa immigration clearance process?
- Would you recommend e-Visa to your family and friends?
- Would you recommend Cambodia as a travel destination to your family and friends?
- Do you have any suggestion to help us improve?
We read and appreciate all the feedback from all the e-Visa family members. While we, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs felt that we have done a good job on the processing and issuance of e-Visa (big clap to the team), we understand we have to improve on the immigration check-in procedures. We will continue to train the users. Please bear with us while we go through the stages of user training as it is a big team. Thank you for your patience.
e-Visa Consultant
September 28th, 2006
Thank you so much for such a quick and easy visa
approval process for our upcoming visit to Cambodia.
If you have access to a digital camera and computer
you can literally get a visa direct from your hotel
room! My husband and I took photos of each other with
our digital camera, uploaded to your site, filled out
the application and hit send! Both our applications
were approved by the time we woke up the following
morning!
Renee & Kurt Schmiederer
September 29th, 2006
I like the ease of getting an e-Visa to Cambodia. It is much easier than going to the local Consulate office. I like the fact that I keep my passport in hand at all times, and still obtain a Visa.
On the website, some of the information was redundant. Perhaps there is a way to simplify.
But, mainly, I was pleased with my experience. Thank you for easing the process.
Anne Cahill
September 29th, 2006
I was not satisfied with the e-visa system. The e-visa line in Immigrations at Pnomh Penh Airport accepted both e-visa and regular visas, so it was not faster. And I was not informed that I had to fill out an immigration form in addition to my e-visa, so I had to stand in line twice. I also found it strange that the customs official spent the same amount of time plotting all my details and taking my photo as with the non-e-visa clients. How can this be worth the effort?
Birte Hjellvik
September 29th, 2006
This process is a very friendly and efficient one.
I wish all visa’s applications were like this.
One comment – when travelling as a couple or 3p. there is a need to go through the all process two-three times. I think that the process can be shortened by allowing to fill in the details as you go along, for up to 3 people who are travelling together. (I can understand that for a big group this could be problematic).
Liza Singer
September 29th, 2006
Really one of the best processes I found in the internet. I wish other countries will follow the approach of Cambodia to ask for visas. After sending a question via e-mail, I immediately received an answer – congratulations to the e-visa-consultants at the ministry of foreign affairs.
Christoph Messmer
September 29th, 2006
I was very satisfied with the e-visa system – an easy-to-use process which was successfully completed in no time at all.
This process shows the Chinese and Vietnamese processes as very
time consuming and beaurocratic by comparison – well done!!
David James
September 29th, 2006
I found the application process for a Cambodian e-visa very straight forward. In fact, it was probably one of the easiest visa application’s I have ever completed. I don’t think it helped me get through customs and immigration at either REP or PNH airports any quicker, but considering this takes very little time anyway it doesn’t matter.
Duncan Cook
September 29th, 2006
I found it very much easy to get the visa per Internet. I applied in the afternoon and next morning I found my e-visa in my inbox already, extremely fast.
As I am of german nationality but holding the citizenship of Nepal and travelling with a Nepali passport I especially appriciated that the e-visa is eligible for Nepalis as well. Even for visas to Germany or Thailand I have to go at least two times to the embassies myself. I will travel to PNH overnext week – lets see how it works at the Immigration.
But up to now – really great !
Thank you very much.
Gerlinde Shrestha
September 29th, 2006
In Siam Reap there is only one person dealing with e-visas and for the time of our arrival he was having a coffe break, therefore all passenger with a normal visa proceed even before the e-visa line started to move. We had wish to be able to pass through any other line with the e-visa.
Eduardo Pérez
September 29th, 2006
September 30, 2006
I copied and pasted the response from Mr. Birte Hjellvik, below. I agree 100% with his comments, and experiences. In fact it took me longer to process thru the airport in Phnom Penh, than my friends who did not have the ‘eVisa’. The agents in Phnom Penh seemed unfamiliar with the eVisa system, so took time trying to figure out what to do and discussing this with others. Also when I visited the Immigration Office at the Airport to extend my Visa stay, the agent there admitted not having seen the eVisa before. There’s a definite need for training for those processing this form.
As pointed out by Mr. Hjellvik not having the Immigration form available and completed caused an additional delay. Please consider including this document AND the Custom’s form as a digital packet, available for download completion with the eVisa.
The process of acquiring the Online eVisa was really convenient, and quick. Congrats on that part of the process. Also you are to be commended on your ‘follow-up’ efforts to improve this system.
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# Birte Hjellvik Says:
September 29th, 2006 at 6:26 pm
I was not satisfied with the e-visa system. The e-visa line in Immigrations at Pnomh Penh Airport accepted both e-visa and regular visas, so it was not faster. And I was not informed that I had to fill out an immigration form in addition to my e-visa, so I had to stand in line twice. I also found it strange that the customs official spent the same amount of time plotting all my details and taking my photo as with the non-e-visa clients. How can this be worth the effort?
Leroy Williams
September 29th, 2006
The application was simple but unfortunately the experience in Siem Reap was not so. First off the plane into an empty customs hall where all desks were manned except the e-visa desk. We were made to wait at the empty desk for ten minutes. At this point the duty officer came over took our visas and disappeared into a back office. After a further five minutes someone came to man the desk but after a few minutes on the computer suggested he would keep the passports for a few minutes while we retrieved our luggage. By this time the luggage was in the baggage hall and so were all the other passengers – even those who bought visas on arrival. Our passports and visas were returned a few minutes later.
The issuing process is excellent, it just needs a few small tweaks at the airport and the service will be world class.
David Arnold
September 29th, 2006
Excellent !
MG
September 29th, 2006
Great efficiency in issuing the e-visa I am worried by the comments that it does sometimes cause problems on arrival but I hope that by the time I arrive at the end of November in Siem Reap arrangements for e-visa holders will have improved.
John Metcalfe
September 29th, 2006
We are in the midst of upgrading all the e-Visa lane at all entry ports including Phnom Penh Pochentong International Airport, Siem Reap International Airport and other border ports. We hope this can provide better and faster processing at the e-Visa lane. The upgrade is scheduled to take place by next Wednesday 4 Oct 2006.
e-Visa Consultant
September 29th, 2006
I disagree with Mr Leroy Williams’ and Mr. Birte Hjellvik’s posts above. I found the staff at PP airport to be very efficient and I passed through passport control much faster than on the previous 5 occassions (3 of which were in the previous 12 months).
I have travelled in over 70 countries and have found that the Cambodian system is not only the most advanced around today, but the staff the most helpful. When I needed to make a 1 day visit during a hastily arranged business trip to Vietnam a few months ago, I contacted the e-visa staff by e-mail to see how long it would take to process. I received a response within minutes to say that someone would monitor my application. When I applied the next day, my e-visa was returned in 12 minutes !!!
As a frequent business traveller to Russia and other countries with antequated (and very expensive) advance visa only systems, this is an incredibly refreshing change – especially for a country which is relatively poor and still struggling to re-build its economy.
I hope that those people who complain about a few minutes wait at passport control will take this into account and give credit for the commitment which the Cambodian government is making to make the life of travellers much easier.
mpurser
September 29th, 2006
I had the same problem as Eduardo Pérez in Siam Reap: there is only one person dealing with e-visas and he will have to take photocopies of your passport somewhere, so I had to wait more than 15 minutes before coming through (even if I was the first one in the row!). By this time all the normal visa passengers had been finished.
All in all, a very nice and fast electronical procedure, but completely uneffective at destination.
Bea Lacalle
September 29th, 2006
EVisa was a god send for us. We live in Mexico where Cambodia does not have either an embassy or any government representation. The EVisa was was the only way we could obtain a visa in Mexico
Steven Rosenberg
September 29th, 2006
Very useful and convenient web based service
However I have to improvement suggestions:
1) Clearly mark and prioritise people with e-visa at arrival (I had to wait longer than other). Make sure only e-visa people wait in the e-visa queue)
2) On the credit Card debit message , clearly mention “VISA Service Cambodia” – because currently one can be confused as it was a company based in Singapore – therefore I didn’t realise it was the VISA fee.
Baertschi
September 29th, 2006
The system worked faultlessly. I received my evisa even sooner than the website stated it would take. I also had a concern about how it would be delivered and encountered no difficulties communicating with the site about my concerns. It is a very useful and reliable service.
J Sailer
September 29th, 2006
When I accidently came across your site that indicated we could get an e-Visa for travel in your country, I was absolutely delighted. We have not travelled at the time of writing, so I cannot comment on the airport issues, but I agree with m purser, in that for a country that is poor and struggling to rebuold your economy, you need to be given full credit for this system! It was easy to do and a very quick process. BRAVO!
J Ross
September 29th, 2006
Superb! 21st century, better than any other country in the world. Very ingeneous. Need to have separate queue in arrivals which is well identified and manned! But very happy with entire process
Gavin
September 29th, 2006
Really great service! I was very impressed with the prompt and efficient reply from Cambodia e-visa. This was a very quick and high-tech process.
Mallika Mathur
September 29th, 2006
really easy to get, much more convinient, congretulation for this idea. but much more long to wait at the custom….
vivien ryckembusch
September 29th, 2006
I like the ease of getting an e-Visa to Cambodia. It is much easier and faster than going to the local Consulate office. But the e-visa line at Siem Reap Airport was not clearly identified because the person in charge of that line was absent at the moment. An other person did his best but was not experimented and it was very long. Our group with e-visa was the last one to acceed to the luggage room. Conclusion : great in Paris, a beat desappointing at the airport.
A-S.IDEE
September 29th, 2006
Excellent and prompt!!
Scott Gallagher
September 29th, 2006
easy to get but unfortunately it did not save me time to enter Cambodia.
Pascal Freudenreich
September 29th, 2006
The system for e-visa was extremely quick and reliable. Two comments though. Fistly, the airport was extremely modern and efficient. Lining up for a visa would have only added a few more minutes to our journey. Secondly, the signage for the e-visa is quite poor. You are required line up for immigration in one specific line (of approxiamtely 6-8) if you gained your visa via the email service. The sign is quite small and it took us a short while to work out which queue we needed to be in. A very tiny and small complaint for what was the start of a very impressive holiday!
Karen and Barry Goodin
September 29th, 2006
I hope other countries around the world follows the way shown by the Cambodian Government. Just goes to show, if there is a will, there is a way. I applied for E Visa and received the same within an hour. That is PROMPT!
I have read the comments regarding delays at Airport, I would be arriving at Phnom Penh on 13 October. Hopefully things would get better as promised by the ‘friendly’ E Visa Consultant.
Sabyasachi Talukdar
September 29th, 2006
To Whom this May Concern:
I have a question, which is outlined below!
Yes, I was most happy with my evisa application process over the internet. This was several weeks ago, when your respones were very helpful and efficient.
However, these many days later, my flight plans may be different than what I indicated on the application. What I put in on my application is likely not to be the actual plan. As it appears, I will fly from Bangkok to Phnom Penh and land travel to Siem Reap. On my application I said I would be flying directly to Siem Reap from Bangkok.
Question:
Please let me know what kind of problems, if any, I will encounter in Phnom Penh with this change in routing?
I will be leaving this Sunday from SFO for Denpasar with plans for flight to Phnom Penh on Nov 20th.
I can reached via email at laughingriver05@yahoo.com
Thanks very much for your assistance with this question.
Roland Hulstein
Roland Hulstein
September 29th, 2006
The online process was very quick and easy, and I was very satisfied. I received my e-visa in less than 24 hours!
However, at the airport in Phnom Penh, it did not seem to be any faster than a regular visa. I got in the “E-visa” line, but everyone else in that line had regular visas. Also, the customs official didn’t seem to understand my paperwork at first. He looked at the printout of the email and asked if I had the original!
Danielle Whittaker
September 29th, 2006
I was very surprised when I discovered that I could have an e-visa. I did not know it was possible. Cambodia is one of the too rare countries where it is ! No need to go to the consulate in Paris ( I am French ), no need to waste my time in waiting … I get my e-visa so quickly and everything was OK ! I had no time to wait in SR airport (such a beautiful airport !) … but may be, that time, I was lucky (I ‘m sure not, … I hope !) … so I am used to go again in Cambodia and I should try it several times again this year … so I will share my experience in a better way! Only one problem, or mostly, one regret … quite important: if you take an e-visa to one port of entry, so you have to go out by the same port !!! You cannot make a round trip ! :0{ but may be I am wrong, if it is, …. Tell me!
LESOIN Joel
September 29th, 2006
Cambodian E-Visa was just pure excellence in Visa application – do it from home (no queues to apply & pick-up). Then feedback within 24HRS – outstanding.
When we came to Cambodia, a special E-Visa queue line – which was very short, again operational excellence.
Overall an excellent Experience – Thanks !
Jens Hansen
September 29th, 2006
Hello,
The e-visa allowed us to go to the front of the line, but the e-visa processing part actually took quite a long time and those in the front of the regular visa line were done before us. Plus, I really miss not having my big visa stamp in my passport… I think next time I would just do a visa prior to going or have it issued at the border.
Thanks though; loved my visit to Cambodia!
Katherine Dykes
September 29th, 2006
The best processes I found in the internet. I wish other countries will follow the approach of Cambodia to ask for visas. After sending a question via e-mail, I immediately received an answer – congratulations to the e-visa-consultants at the ministry of foreign affairs. It is such a pleasure to travel to countries that have a hassle-free visa/entry system. Bravo! for leading the way to you historic and friendly nation.
However, processes to accept and transact e-visas at your airports have to be improved. Your officers and services are have yet to come upto speed in processing data and moving passengers along at an accelerated pace.
David Balasundaram
David Balasundaram
September 29th, 2006
It was very easy and quick to get a visa online. The site is very userfriendly and I had my visa a day later. I wish more countries would adopt the same system.
When we arrived at the airport, it only took a few minutes to go through emigration. Somebody took our e-visa print outs and then brought them all over to our counter and I had to select mine. Not sure if this was all necessary. Anyhow, I thought it was much faster and efficient than going through emigrations in the US.
Margarita Garcia
September 29th, 2006
Found the new e- visa process quick and easy – excellent !.
Saves time and also money for courier charges.
Tim Marshall
September 29th, 2006
This was one of the easiest ways I’ve ever gotten a visa. Worked liked a charm. I will be using the visa next month and will report back on how the Cambodia, special E-Visa queue line works
Michael Nichols
September 29th, 2006
Appying for a visa online was a breeze, very quick and efficient.
However, the immigration staff in Phnom Penh do not seem to be trained sufficiently on how to process people with an e-visa. It took a very long time and the official needed to ask several collegues for assistance in processing the visa.
Also on leaving the country at the Moc Bai border it took a long time for the immigration official to finally give me the exit stamp and allow me to leave the country.
I think the process on the application side is excellent, however it still should be followed up with adequate training for the immigration staff at the border crossings.
Danielle van Strien
September 29th, 2006
Deeply impressed with the on-line application process which I came across by chance. Will have to see how it goes at SR end but if there is a dedicated lane it should be fine. If only other countries (including my own) could get it together like this.
Phil Ashill
September 29th, 2006
The application process was quick and easy – could not have been better. Unfortunately, it would have been much quicker for me to get the normal visa at the airport as the customs agent made everyone line up and hand their documents to him. He then disappeared to a back room for several minutes while he accessed the e-visa site to check everyone’s name (all this happening while the other passengers with normal visas were already in their taxis). It would be great if there were to be a scanner that could recognize a code on the e-visa printout at the agent’s desk so the process could be quicker.
fred
September 29th, 2006
We were impressed with the speed and efficiency with which we received our e-Visas. It saved us from having to get a visa at the airport at Siem Reap, although it took a little longer than we might have expected for us to get through immigration. That was because only one of the officials on duty could process the e-Visa, and he was on a break when we arrived.
(By the way, the new Siem Reap airport is quite nice.)
Darrel and Joan Braun
September 29th, 2006
I have e-visa #0000003. The process was very effcient and convenient. Processing at Siem Reap International Airport was efficent and fast. I was instantly recognized since I believe that I was the only one on the flight with an e-visa and most possibly I was the first passenger to be processed with an e-visa. There were four officials behind the e-visa counter waiting for me when I arrived. I was summoned and escorted to the e-visa line and treated with kindly and with curiosity. The assistance provided by the Embassy staff was professional and friendly. The entire process was a pleasure and inexpensive compared my past experiences in obtaining a visa to visit other countries requiring them. A positive tourism promotion! Good Job.
Thomas M Kurihara
September 29th, 2006
I am a travelagent in Belgium and applied for the e-visa for my customers.
The lay-out of the website is OK and very user friendly.
However feedback from the customers at Phnom Penh Airport was that there was not any gain in time having arranged their visa upfront. This is an important element which needs improvement.
Having the visa at the airport is apparantly today faster and cheaper
Yves Van Malder
September 29th, 2006
I had the same experience like other travellers:
The application process was really efficient: quick and easy.
Entering Cambodia (Siem Reap) though took much longer than it was for the people entering without a visa, as the customs agent made everyone line up and hand their documents to him. He then disappeared to a back room for several minutes to take a fotocopy from the visa (and pasport?), all this happening while the other passengers with visas issued at the airport were already in their taxis. I had this experience in July 2006. I take it that the upgrade scheduled to take place the 4th October 2006 will improve this so that people with e-visa can entry much faster in the near future.
The issuingproces is excellent. So if arrangments at the customs will improve in the future, this system will be ‘world-class’!
Lathouwers Lut
September 29th, 2006
Very easy online. At Phnom Phen airport got to skip the first immigration line. At second line evisa took longer than people who go visa on arrival. This is probably a training issue. Evisa has promise but still has a few kinks.
Bruce Fairman
September 29th, 2006
Getting the e-visa: filled out form on the web, including uploading scan of passport picture, and had my e-visa returned via email in less than 24 hrs. Worked perfectly, and much cheaper than getting a China visa since I didn’t need a courier service to hand deliver my passport to a consulate (I live in Dallas, TX, USA)
Using e-visa on arrival to Siem Reap: this was Sept 2006: there was a seperate line for vistors with e-visa. I was the first in line, so I didn’t notice and large delay in processing, but the customs official did go off with the e-visa for copying. Also, you need to hold on to the e-visa for exit from Cambodia.
Overall, very positive experience.
Bob Sussman
September 29th, 2006
It was very easy to apply and I got the visa within days, but I was hassled for over an hour at the border (crossing from Ho Chi Minh City). At the border the officials told me they couldn’t accept the e-visa at that point of entry, and that I had to pay them an extra $25 USD, not by card but by cash, and only in USD. It was a huge pain, and I wish I’d known ahead of time which points of entry I could use the e-visa at.
Rachel
September 29th, 2006
We had a very satisfying experience. Your people were extremely helpful when we had questions, and their answers arrived the same day. Thank you for all your help.
Hank Upton
September 29th, 2006
great easy convenient and fast!!!!!
didier lebon
September 29th, 2006