Visa policy of Laos

Visitors to Laos must obtain a visa from one of the Laotian diplomatic missions or online unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries or qualify for visa on arrival. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months.[1]

Lao visa

Visa policy map

Visa policy of Laos

  Laos

  Visa-free (30 days)

  Visa-free (15 days) or eVisa (30 days)

  Visa-free (14 days) or eVisa (30 days)

  Visa on arrival (30 days) or eVisa

  Visa required in advance

Visa exemption

Citizens of the following 15 countries can visit Laos without a visa (allowed length of stay in days is shown in parentheses):[2]

30 days  Cambodia  Indonesia  Malaysia  Mongolia  Philippines  Russia  Singapore  South Korea[3]  Thailand  Vietnam 15 days  Japan  Luxembourg   Switzerland 14 days  Brunei  Myanmar

Date of visa changes
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. 2004: Vietnam[4][5] 2004: Cambodia[6] 2004: Singapore[7] 2004: Malaysia[7] 2004: Thailand[8] 2005: Brunei[9] 12 July 2005: Philippines[10] 1 January 2007: Japan 1 September 2007: Russia 14 October 2007: Mongolia[11] 1 September 2008: South Korea 7 July 2009: Luxembourg and Switzerland 2009: Myanmar[12] 2011: Indonesia[13] 1 August 2018: Sri Lanka (visa on arrival) Former: 1 January 2018 - 31 December 2018: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden

Diplomatic and service category passports

Holders of diplomatic and/or service category passports do not require a visa to visit Laos up to 30 days (unless otherwise noted).[2]

Armenia ^D  Azerbaijan ^D  Belarus  Czech Republic ^D  China ^D  Cuba  Georgia ^D  Hungary ^D  India  Indonesia ^D (14 days)  Japan (90 days)  Kazakhstan ^D  Kyrgyzstan ^D

Moldova  Myanmar  North Korea  Pakistan (90 days)  Peru[14]  Serbia (90 days)  South Korea (90 days)  Poland ^D  Tajikistan ^D  Timor-Leste  Turkmenistan ^D  Ukraine ^D  Uzbekistan ^D

_{D — diplomatic passports only}

Visa waiver agreement for diplomatic passports was signed with Turkey in November 2018 and it is yet to come into force.[15]

Visa on arrival

External image
Map of entry points with Visa on Arrival facility

Visitors of other nationalities may obtain a visa on arrival valid for 30 days for a fee at most of the 27 ports of entry to the country, except:[16]

• Napao-Chalo (Vietnam)
• Subhun (China)
• Pakxan-Bueng Kan (Thailand)
• Xieng Kok river port (Myanmar)

There have been reports that between January and June 2020 visa on arrival facility will be shut down at 9 border crossings.[17]

The visa on arrival is extendable twice, not exceeding 90 days of stay in Laos. Extensions are handled by the province immigration office inside Laos for a fee.[18][19]

Nationals of the following countries are ineligible to obtain a visa on arrival, and they can only obtain a visa on arrival if they are traveling on an official visit and are holding an official letter of guarantee issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Laos:[1]

Afghanistan  Algeria  Bangladesh  Burundi  Cameroon  Congo  DR Congo  Eswatini  Ghana  Guinea-Bissau  Ivory Coast  Iran  Iraq  Jordan  Lebanon  Lesotho

Liberia  Libya  Mozambique  Nauru  Niger  Nigeria  Pakistan  Senegal  Sierra Leone  South Sudan  Sudan  Suriname  Syria  Tonga  Zambia  Zimbabwe

eVisa

The official Lao eVisa logo

Laos launched an eVisa service in July 2019.[20][21]

eVisa for Laos is available to citizens of all countries except countries whose citizens are ineligible for visa on arrival.[22] eVisa is valid for 60 days from the date of issuance and its holders may stay for up to 30 days in Laos.[23] eVisa costs varies depending on the country and can be issued with 3 business days.

eVisa may be used to enter Laos through the following entry points:

• Wattay International Airport
• Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge
• Luang Prabang International Airport (became available as of October 15, 2019)[24]

Statistics

Most visitors arriving to Laos were from the following countries of nationality:[25]

Country	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011
Thailand	1,797,803	2,009,605	2,321,352	2,043,761	2,059,434	1,937,612	1,579,941
Vietnam	891,643	998,400	1,187,954	1,108,332	910,164	705,596	561,586
China	639,185	545,493	511,436	422,440	245,033	199,857	150,791
South Korea	170,571	173,260	165,328	96,085	81,799	53,829	34,707
United States	38,765	58,094	63,058	61,460	61,608	53,380	50,092
France	36,760	54,953	55,151	52,146	52,411	46,903	44,399
Japan	32,064	49,191	43,826	44,877	48,644	42,026	37,883
United Kingdom	27,723	39,170	41,508	39,061	41,741	35,964	35,622
Germany	23,776	34,018	31,897	29,800	29,250	23,417	21,280
Australia	20,886	33,077	34,655	44,964	35,441	33,878	31,874
Total	3,868,838	4,239,047	4,684,429	4,158,719	3,779,490	3,330,072	3,330,072

See also

• Visa requirements for Laotian citizens

References

1. "Country information (visa section)". Timatic. International Air Transport Association (IATA) through Olympic Air. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
2. "DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION OF LAO PDR". www.immigration.gov.la. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
3. Ross, Don. "Laos drops visa for Koreans - TTR Weekly". Retrieved 17 June 2019.
4. Under the Visa Agreement on 05 March 2004
5. "Lao Airlines". www.laoairlines.com. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
6. Under the Visa Agreement on 10 May 2004
7. Under the Visa Agreement on 1 July 2004
8. Under the Visa Agreement on 28 October 2004
9. Under the Visa Agreement on 1 April 2005
10. Under the Visa Agreement on 10 April 2005
11. Under the Visa Agreement on 14 September 2007
12. Under the Visa Agreement on 20 November 2009
13. Under the Visa Agreement on 23 September 2011
14. Under visa exemption agreement on 20 July 2011; from 7 November 2011
15. "From Rep. of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
16. "DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION OF LAO PDR". www.immigration.gov.la. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
18. "How to apply the visa extension". immigration.gov.la. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
19. "Law On EntryExit, And the Management of Foreigners in the Lao PDR Article 41 Section 5". Laoservicesportal.gov.la. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
20. Laos launches e-visa service in Vientiane
21. Lao E-visa launched for foreigners
22. Who can Apply for Lao eVisa
23. eVisa Laos
24. PDR, Consular Department-Ministry of Foreign Affairs LAO. "Lao EVisa / Faq". laoevisa.gov.la. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
25. "Statistical Reports on Tourism in Laos".

External links

• Lao PDR Immigration Department