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A Tourist Visa for the Lao PDR is available on arrival in Laos or from a Lao Embassy 

For most passport holders* in 2013, a 30-day Lao Visa on arrival can be purchased at road/river border crossing point ports of entry, except overland from Cambodia.

Visas for Laos are needed for all passports except Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia, Luxembourg and Switzerland. According to agreements made since 2005, ASEAN country citizens should be given free entry for 15 days. However, visitors from Indonesia and other ASEAN countries are being charged for entry into Laos. This may also apply at other ASEAN country border control where the free entry agreement has not been implemented or is being ignored.

* While most foreign visitors are eligible for a Lao Visa On Arrival, from October 2009, passport holders of 29 countries require a visa from a Lao Embassy or Consulate.

African countries that need a Lao visa BEFORE ARRIVAL from an embassy include: Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Other countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Nauru, Tonga, Surinam.

Generally, to save time and inconvenience when visiting many countries which require visas before arrival, it's often easier to get them before you leave home. You can apply to each country's Embassy (allow plenty of time) or get all your visas in one go at PassportVisasExpress who also process applications for Lao visas for US and Canadian passports.

If there is no Lao Embassy or consular office in your country, such as the United Kingdom (Paris is the closest), then unless you're from one of the excluded countries, just arrive at the Lao border with US$35 and a photo, and get a VOA. Click the image on the right to see, save or print out the Arrival Visa Form. Laos Embassy locator ==>

A one- or two-month (60-day) tourist visa is only available from Lao Embassies and Consulates. In Asia and the Asia-Pacific region these are in India, Malaysia, Philippines, Timor Leste, Brunei, Hong Kong, North Korea, South Korea, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Japan and Australia. See below for details on some Lao Embassies in Asia. The Lao PDR Embassy in Singapore is at the Goldhill Centre in Thomson Road.

Lao Visa Prices

The 30 day visa on arrival in the Lao PDR is available at all ports of entry in Laos including the airports of the main cities. Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Pakse. You should try to have one photo. Visa cost ranges from $20 (China) to $42 (Canada).  Sweden is $31, $35 for the USA, UK and most of Europe, $40 for India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and $30 for Australia and other countries. The full list is on display at the Visa Application window. Japanese visitors to Lao no longer need a visa and ASEAN country passport holders should not have to pay for a 15 day entry stamp. But you don't argue with an immigration official, even if you think he may be putting the money in his pocket!

US dollars in smaller denominations can be used freely in much of Laos, so try to arrive with at least enough US$ notes for your visa. Thai currency (baht) can also be used in Lao, but paying for your visa in baht will cost you quite a lot more than the US dollar equivalent, due to the bad exchange rate at Lao Immigration. 

Extending a Lao Visa. If you apply before the expiry date, visas can be extended for about $1 per day in Vientiane. The Immigration office is opposite Bangkok Bank in a road off Lane Xang Avenue, on the other side to the Morning Market. On the corner is the Joint Development Bank (JDB) head office which has ATMs for VISA and MasterCard. Further along the road is ANZ Laos. See Lao Banks & ATMs for detailed information.

By the way, if you're visiting Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) or Phnom Penh before your trip to the Lao PDR, you get US dollars from Cambodia's ATMs. See Banking in SE Asia. You should also apply for a Lao Visa in Phnom Penh if you are entering Laos by land from Cambodia, as a visa on arrival is not available. You can however exit Laos and enter Cambodia.

You can also obtain your Lao Visa in the USA in advance from an agency or from a Lao Embassy in your country. If you prefer to have all your visas in your passport before you arrive in the countries that require them, then visit the PassportVisasExpress website where you can also apply for a US Passport if you don't have one yet, renew, add new pages or replace a lost or stolen US passport.

Note that many travellers entering Thailand from the Lao PDR or other country will not need a Thai visa. Note also that the regulations changed in June 2009 and restrictions on entries to Thailand apply to tourists and foreign residents of neighbouring countries. Check our Thailand Visa page. After March 2010, Thai tourist visas were no longer free.

Visa procedure at the Thai Lao Friendship Bridge, Nongkhai
Opening times are usually from 6 am to 10 pm. Unless you are unlucky and arrive just after a large tour group, the wait for your visa is usually 10 to 15 minutes. Delays are possible when there are long queues at Immigration. As with everything in Lao, there's never a rush.

It's worth noting that Immigration can be slow and frustrating on the Thai side too. If you are in a hurry, best to avoid late afternoons, public holidays and weekends in either country, when both tourists and locals cross the border in substantial numbers.

There are Thai baht ATMs just before Thai Immigration, for VISA, MasterCard etc. The next are on the Lao side both at the Bridge and outside several factories on the routes into the city. They accept VISA and Cirrus cards, but dispense Lao kip, usable only within the Lao PDR.

* Visa on arrival facilities now exist at 14 land border crossings and river ports of entry to the Lao PDR from Thailand, China and Vietnam including Mittaphap (Friendship) Bridge & Nongkhai, Houayxay & Xiengkhong, Thakhek & Nakhonphanom, Savannakhet & Mukdahan, Vangtao & Xongmek, Namphao & Cautreo, Densavanh & Laobao, Naphao & Chalo, Boten & Bohane, Namkane & Namekane, Namsoue & Nameo and Paksane & Beungkane. We cannot confirm the Cambodia/Lao crossing points issue visas.

If you already have a Lao Visa in your passport, you only need to fill in an Arrival/Departure form (similar to the Thailand one) available in the arrivals area or from the Visa on Arrival window. Just ask for the form. Fill in both sections, using any guesthouse or hotel name (Lao Plaza, Novotel (now Mercure), Mekong) as your address – no one cares. Present the completed form with your passport at a Foreign Passports booth and you will be 'stamped in'. Make sure you get 30 days entry and not just 15 as previously. 

WARNING: DO NOT USE A NONGKHAI AGENT TO GET YOUR LAO VISA AS LAO IMMIGRATION HAS OUTLAWED THE USE OF THESE SERVICES. Also be aware that certain hotels and guesthouses in Vietnam offer SCAM visa services.

Visa Services may still be offered by Nongkhai travel agencies, guest houses or hotels and other shops near the bridge when selling tours to Laos. You would pay substantially more than the visa fee and achieve nothing except a few minutes of time. The correct procedure is to apply for a 30 day Lao visa-on-arrival on the Lao side of the river, with usually a short delay unless there are a lot of people ahead of you. It's quite straightforward when you know how:

If you do NOT already have a Lao visa, DO NOT queue at the Foreign Passports Arrivals Booth. Ask for the two forms you need at the left hand Visa-on-arrival window at the front of the building.

First, fill in the simple Visa Application form and hand it back together with your passport, one photo and the fee (there is a list of countries and fees ranging from $30 to $42 – see above) in US dollars cash. On weekends and holidays there is often a $1 surcharge.

Second, take your time to complete both halves of the Arrivals/Departure form. Wait 10 minutes or so until your name (or something resembling it!) is called from the right hand window, collect your passport with its (previously 15 but now) 30 day visa, and proceed to one of the Foreign Passports arrivals booths, where you will be processed. Check to make sure you are stamped in for thirty days and not fifteen as previously. 

If you have a two month visa, make sure they give you two months. Sometimes they put thirty days by mistake on the stamp.

Walk past Customs; they rarely stop foreign tourists unless they are carrying a lot of extra bags. At the Entry Fee booth pay 10 or 20 baht. The final stop is a uniformed official who briefly checks your passport and the entry receipts. Welcome to Lao!

If you want to stock up on imported liquor and cigarettes, you can buy them freely at the Duty Free shops on the Lao side. However, liquor prices are much the same as in town and very cheap compared to Thailand. Most people take a bottle of something when they go back to Nongkhai.

More information and other types of Lao visa for longer term stay.

Transport into the City

Vientiane city centre is about 25 km or 15 miles from Mittaphab (Friendship Bridge). You will be approached by drivers offering a taxi to the city for 200 baht. Tuk-tuks are 100 baht per person. 

Other transport options from the bridge include the commuter bus which is usually crowded, but cheap at 4000 kip. The stop is outside the public car park. Sharing a taxi or tuk-tuk are possibly the best choices. Mini buses with their transport and tour prices displayed on a board in the arrivals area are available too. If you are in a group, this might be an economical option if you want to go somewhere specific.

Thailand-Lao PDR International Bus Service

Daily direct services: Udon Thani – Vientiane, and Nong Khai – Vientiane, via the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge across the Mekong River, using 45-seat air-conditioned VIP buses. See our Lao Travel page for the timetable.