Prior to arriving in Cambodia for your volunteering position, one of the most important yet bothersome things you need to do is to gather the necessary documents. Because of the number of questions we receive regarding the documents, here we will provide a brief overview of the documents that are generally required by all hosting organizations and that you should provide prior to your arrival in the country as a volunteer.

 

Updated copy of your CV in English

Quite a few volunteers apply to volunteer projects without providing any information about their background, personal details or studies. Some of them apply with a CV in their native language (Spanish, French, etc.). Even when you’re applying for a volunteer position, it is still important for you to introduce yourself. If you’re a student, tell us about your hobbies, extracurricular sports or activities, and any summer jobs or temporary jobs that you have had. Kindly write to us in English!

 

Copy of your Passport

You will need a valid passport to travel to Cambodia. The host organization will usually ask you to provide a scan of the first two pages of your passport. Remember that the passport should be valid for at least six months after your entry date in Cambodia.

 

Copy of your Travel and Health Insurance

Insurance is essential; do not visit Cambodia without medical insurance! Hospitals are extremely basic in the provinces, and even in Phnom Penh the facilities are not necessarily what you may be accustomed to at home. Anyone who has a serious injury or illness while in Cambodia may require emergency evacuation to Bangkok. Don’t gamble with your health in Cambodia or you may end up as another statistic. Make sure your policy covers emergency evacuation; limited medical facilities would call for evacuation by air to Bangkok in the event of a serious injury or illness. Having health insurance is so important that several organizations will accept you as a volunteer only upon receiving a copy of your health insurance policy.

 

Police background check

Unfortunately, Cambodia is notorious for attracting pedophiles who are often given an entry visa to the country even if they have pending convictions.

For positions in which volunteers will be working with children, we need to verify that volunteers have no prior convictions that prevent them from working with children.

This explains why all trusted organizations working with minors ask volunteers to provide a criminal record check issued by the local police to verify the existence of prior convictions of a specific nature.

 

Reference letter from your last employer or qualifications

Should you be offered a volunteer position based on your work experience or type of studies, you will be requested to provide some evidence via a reference letter from your former employer or teacher/professor, or copies of your qualifications (such as diplomas or certificates) to verify that you have the qualifications that are required for the particular position.

 

Details of your arrival flight ticket

It is quite common for volunteers to misread their arrival or departure date, which may create some logistics issues for the host organization who is expecting your help for a specific period of time. To prevent misunderstanding, we advise volunteers to send the host organization a copy of their flight ticket.

 

List of allergies and emergency contact list

It’s better to be safe than sorry and provide the host organization with a list of your allergies (e.g., penicillin, gluten, diary products) which they can translate and hand over to a local doctor should you feel sick at any time.

Also ensure that your host organization has a contact list, including the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of friends or family in case of emergencies.

 
Copy of your Visa

To enter Cambodia, you must have a valid Passport and Visa. Visa is usually provided upon arrival, with some exceptions.

  • Nationals of ASEAN Countries (Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia,Brunei and Myanmar) using their local passport do not need a tourist visa and may stay in Cambodia for a month.
  • Nationals from Afghanistan, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan,Sri-Lanka, Sudan and Nigeria need to obtain their Travel Visa at the nearest Embassy of Cambodia prior to the travel date.

To learn more about Travel Visa Requirements, please contact the Cambodian Embassy of your country.

 

Issue of privacy and confidentiality

Usually these documents are kept confidential and only for the duration of your staying. You may want to ask the host organizations for clarifications on how they handle your data in case of any privacy concerns.

 

Volunteer in Cambodia with Professionals doing good