Cambodia Expats Online: Forum | News | Information | Blog

Hey all,

My wife and I are moving to Cambodia in a couple of months. We have a one way flight booked, and plan to get an 'Ordinary' visa on arrival, which we will extend to twelve months at the earliest available opportunity.

A friend suggested we might have troubles getting a visa or even being allowed on the plane to Phnom Penh because our ticket is one way.

We plan to stay for the foreseeable future, and the visa situation seems to allow for that, but my friend and certain web pages suggest we will need to show evidence of a flight out of the country to get the visa, or even be allowed to get on the flight to Cambodia? Is this information still accurate?

We're flying SilkAir from Singapore if that makes a difference.

I flew from Washington DC to Phnom Penh on a one way ticket via Korean Airlines. This never became an issue.

I came to Cambodia about 5 a 6 times with a one way ticket, never had any problems.

I've had a problem with a return ticket. It took a while at the check-in counter for them to make sure that Cambodia issues VOA. It was a smallish airport and it seemed like the staff had never seen someone flying to Cambodia outside of a tour group.
Just make sure that you're not running late and you have time to explain if necessary.

I wasn't sure about this either, so in addition to my one way ticket, I bought a bus ticket to Saigon online, so I could show them I had onward travel, just in case they asked.

KickingWithRedLabel wrote:I flew from Washington DC to Phnom Penh on a one way ticket via Korean Airlines. This never became an issue.

I've taken the same flight in the last year, and no problems boarding either. I can't remember the airlines for the life of me.

At check-in the dude even commented about a passport photo I had stapled in the back of my passport (just to keep one always handy), "is this for your visa on arrival?"

Good idea about the bus ticket to Saigon, but you could also get an exit ticket from somewhere like Expedia which allows you to print out the ticket, and still cancel it within 24 hours. They say it's "free" but I believe I was still charged $7.

That said, the ONLY time in the past 7 years or so that I've been asked for an onward/exit ticket was a couple weeks ago when I flew from Phnom Penh to Jakarta with Jet Star airlines. I actually couldn't pull it up on my phone very quickly, and she finally said, "nevermind, as long as you're sure you have it..."

They shouldn't ask you anything at all when getting your VOA, except for cash and pictures.

And if you don't have pics they just charge an extra couple dollars.

Good luck on your move here! What's your plans here, if I can ask?

Hey all, thank you so much for sharing your experiences!

We're flying from Australia, and the stopover in Singapore is a couple of hours, hopefully long enough to book a flight or bus out online if we're approached. Your replies are comforting tho!

General Mackevili, our plans are somewhat open! I work in the digital world and am hoping that I can keep most of my clients happy from Cambodia. We're both arty types, and a lot of what we do openly here appears to be less publicly acceptable in Cambodia, but we're both looking forward to a bit of head space and seeing what comes of it. I've wanted out of Australia for many years and am so excited that my wife has gotten to a place where she can not only see us living there, but is as excited about it as I am!

As an aside, I asked here instead of 'that other forum' and am blown away by the friendliness of you all here. It's nice to know there's a place full of friendly folks we can turn to for advice. Thank you!

The policies of airlines have changed a lot, they are trying to cover their own asses, coz if the passenger is deported, the rule is to go back on the airline they came on, yeah so be prepared

xavoy wrote:
As an aside, I asked here instead of 'that other forum' and am blown away by the friendliness of you all here. It's nice to know there's a place full of friendly folks we can turn to for advice. Thank you!

Awwww, I'm blushing!

Good to hear, thx, and welcome to Cambodia and CEO.

xavoy wrote:Hey all, thank you so much for sharing your experiences!

We're flying from Australia, and the stopover in Singapore is a couple of hours, hopefully long enough to book a flight or bus out online if we're approached. Your replies are comforting tho!

AFAIK, if you are going to have a problem with the airline (refusing to let you board with a one-way ticket), it will be when you go to check-in in Australia, so that's where you would have to take measures if necessary. Once you're on the plane I think you're good.

And welcome to CEO etc. If you have questions, just ask. We are happy to help most of the time. Have you been to Cambodia before ?