The following advice is valid for citizens of all countries EXCEPT for the following.

Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzavile, DRC, Eswatini, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Mozambique, Nauru, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tonga, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

If you are from one of the countries listed above, then your only option is to get a visa in person at a Lao consulate. You will find a complete list of Lao diplomatic missions worldwide here. But if you are from any other country, then keep reading.

If this page doesn’t answer all your questions, then join the “Laos Visa” group on Facebook — there you can ask questions and get them answered by people who have gone through Lao passport control just in the past few days. I last went through in March 2023, though I update this page whenever I come across new information.

If you have a Swiss passport, and you are making only a short visit (15 days maxium) you don’t need a visa in Laos at all Everyone else, keep reading.

One convenient option is the eVisa —pay by credit card, no cash needed, and this will save you time at the border on arrival. Apply at least a week before your arrival date — it should arrive within 3 business days, but sometimes it comes late. But E-visa is ONLY valid at 3 airports (Vientiane, Luang Prabang, and Pakse — NOT Savannakhet), on the train or overland from China at Boten, and at 3 land border crossings from Thailand: Vientiane/Nong Khai, Huay Xai/Chiang Kong, and Savannakhet/Moukdahan. The cost is usually around $50, but it can change at any time, and it might vary for different nationalities. Get more info and apply here.

The second convenient option is the Visa on Arrival (VoA) valid for 30 days. In 2024 it costs US$40 (plus a $1 surcharge on weekends, plus $1 for a passport photo if you don’t have one, plus sometimes $1-2 just because, sometimes called a “stamping fee”) payable in CASH ONLY — US dollars or Thai Baht, or sometimes they will accept 1 million kip instead (around $48). Euros, pounds, Aussie dollars etc. are almost never accepted — I heard of one person who was allowed to pay €40 instead of $40, but that is unusual. VoA is available at all 3 major airports (but NOT Savannakhet), the Boten/Bo Han Chinese land border (but NOT on the Lao-China train!!!), the Nong Nok Khian border with Cambodia (that’s the main crossing, right by the 4,000 Islands), and the following land borders with Thailand: Vientiane/Nong Khai, Huay Xay/Chiang Khong, Tonpheung/Chiang Saen, Thakhek/Nakhon Phanom, Savannakhet/Moukdahan, and Vang Tao/Chong Mek (buses from Thailand to Pakse cross here) It is only available at ONE land crossing with Vietnam: Daensavan/Lao Bao (between Hue and Savannakhet). If you’re coming from northern Vietnam into Muang Khua or Luang Prabang, you must obtain a visa in person in advance at a Lao consulate, either in Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City or in some other country.

The least convenient option is a visa obtained in advance at a Lao consulate. If you will enter Laos at a border post where neither eVisa nor Visa on Arrival is offered (for example, at all overland crossings from Vietnam except Lao Bao in the South), you MUST do this. This is valid at all entry points listed on this website: https://immigration.gov.la/checkpoints. The price depends on your nationality, and in which country you get the visa. At the consulate in Hanoi, you can get a visa same-day; as of June 2023 this costs VND 1 million ($43). Laos has 3 consulates in Vietnam — in Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City.

For more information on money in Laos see here.

*IF YOU DO NOT HAVE DOLLARS FOR THE VISA ON ARRIVAL, then Thai Baht and Lao Kip are accepted, but it’s about 20% more expensive in kip. All US banknotes must be crisp with no tears and no writing or markings on them, and be dated 2009 or newer (look for “Series 2021”, “Series 2017” etc. on the front of the banknote). Generally speaking, no other currencies are accepted. I did hear of one person who was allowed to pay €40 instead of $40, but that is highly unusual.

You also need one passport photo. You can have one taken at the border (usual cost $1), but it’s a little faster if you have them with you. They are not strict about the size of the photo — it must be passport-sized, but I’ve never known them to reject a photo that was a few millimetres outside the suggested guidelines. Your passport must have at least six months’ remaining validity.

If you are from a wealthy country, you will not be asked to show a return ticket or a tour itinerary or any other support documents like that. But if you are from a poor country (particularly India, it seems), and they suspect that you might intend to work in Laos illegally, then they usually demand these things. I heard from one Indian man who was told to pay a $300 bribe in the airport to get his Visa on Arrival. I have NEVER heard of this happening to people from wealthier countries. If you are worried about this, then have a return flight booking and a tour itinerary ready to show them — you will not have to actually follow that itinerary, you just need to show it on arrival and then you can throw it away after that.

If you are taking the train between Laos and China, you CANNOT use Visa on Arrival. Laos does not allow that on the train, and China doesn’t allow visa on arrival at all, anywhere. If coming from China into Laos, apply in advance for a Lao e-visa here. If going from Laos into China, google it — so many foreigners visit China every year that accurate information is always easy to find, and the rules can change frequently from month to month and place to place.

If you want to stay more than 30 days, you have two options:

1. A few major cities in Laos have an office where you can extend your visa for $1-2 per day (the price seems to vary by location and maybe by nationality). You should do that BEFORE the visa expires — in most cities you can do it anytime, but in Vang Vieng I am told that they will only do this within 5 days of your visa’s expiration date. You can extend the visa by up to 30 days each time you do this. In total, you can stay for up to 90 days on a single visa doing this. This requires $1-2 cash for each day of visa extension (they usually accept kip), but no new passport photo. Some people have managed to get same-day processing, but usually they will hold your passport until the next business day. In Thakhek, I’m told they hold your passport for an entire week. In Pakse they hold your passport for 2 days, and the office is right near the Pakse hotel. In Vang Vieng it takes 5 days, and you go to the Provincial police office / immigration office. Note that if you wait to extend the visa until AFTER it has expired, that costs $10 per day.

2. In some places you can do a “visa run”. E.g. If you’re in Huay Xai right on the Thai border, you can leave Laos, cross the bridge into Thailand, get a free Thai Visa on Arrival, turn back around, exit Thailand, and buy a new 30-day Lao Visa on Arrival. The whole process will take about 2 hours. This will require $40 cash and another passport photo. Note that you are only allowed to enter Thailand via overland borders maximum 2 times per year. (You can enter Thailand via airplane as many times as you want.

If you leave Laos AFTER your visa has expired, or go to extend your visa after it has expired, the penalty is US$10 per day.

In any country, always be careful when seeking Visa advice via a Google search. The top “sponsored” results are usually from middlemen who will charge you 3-10 times more than you actually need to pay. Scroll down through the Google search results until you find the official government website.