What visa do you need to teach English in Cambodia?

Why Cambodia's process looks different

Cambodia doesn't run a dedicated foreign-teacher visa system with the same formal document chain as Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea or Thailand. Most foreign teachers work on an extended ordinary (business) visa, arranged through the school or, informally, through a visa agent who handles the paperwork for a fee. This makes Cambodia one of the easier places to start teaching without a long lead-in time, but it also means less consistency and less protection if something goes wrong.

What schools actually ask for

Document requirements here vary more by individual employer than by national law. Some schools want a copy of your degree and a criminal record check on file, particularly larger or more established ones; smaller language centres sometimes ask for very little beyond a passport copy and a TEFL certificate. This doesn't mean documents don't matter — a school that skips due diligence on you may also be informal about pay and contracts, so treat a thorough document request as a mild positive sign about the employer, not a burden.

A health check isn't a fixed universal requirement the way it is in several neighbouring countries, but individual schools or municipal offices can still ask for one, so don't assume it's never needed.

The real risks in an informal system

The biggest risk isn't a rejected application in the Vietnam or China sense — it's ambiguity. Extension lengths, exact costs, and what a visa agent is actually filing on your behalf can be unclear, and some teachers have been quoted different things by different agents for what should be the same product. Ask the school directly what visa and extension you'll end up with, get it in writing if possible, and ask other foreign teachers at the same school what actually happened for them, not what they were promised.

Cambodia's visa rules for foreigners, including business visa extension terms, have been adjusted before and enforcement can tighten with little warning. Nothing here should be treated as guaranteed; confirm current terms with your specific school, a reputable visa agent, or Cambodian immigration before assuming continuity with what worked for a previous batch of teachers.