UPDATED TO REFLECT THE CHANGES ON 1/1/2025:

Citizens of the following countries can ONLY get a visa in person at a Lao consulate. A complete list of consulates worldwide is found here . If you are from any of these countries, you may NOT get an e-visa or visa on arrival (VoA) at all, anywhere:

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.

Anyone from ANY country who wants a MULTI-ENTRY VISA must also apply in person at a consulate.

Citizens of the following countries can enter VISA-FREE FOR UP TO 30 DAYS:

Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam

Citizens of the following countries can enter VISA-FREE FOR UP TO 15 DAYS:

Japan, Switzerland, Luxembourg

EVERYONE WHOSE NATIONALITY IS NOT LISTED ABOVE, THESE ARE YOUR OPTIONS:

Note: THIS INCLUDES ALL EUROPEAN CITIZENS EXCEPT SWISS AND LUXEMBOURG! During 2024, many more European nationalities were allowed in visa-free for 15 days. But as of 1 January 2025, that is no longer true:

1. The eVisa. Valid for 30 days (in 2024 it was 60 days, but no longer). 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 China-Laos train, 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.

2. Visa on Arrival (VoA). Valid for 30 days (not 60 days anymore). In 2024/25 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. (They will occasionally accept one million kip — around $46 — but sometimes they will refuse, and anyway that’s only useful if there is an ATM before passport control where you can get kip. You cannot buy or sell kip outside of Laos, except with other tourists. 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 (by both bus and train), Huay Xay/Chiang Khong, Tonpheung/Chiang Saen, Thakhek/Nakhon Phanom, Savannakhet/Moukdahan, and Vang Tao/Chong Mek (buses from Thailand to Pakse cross here). VoA 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 unless you are one of the visa-free nationalities listed above. 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 cost VND 1 million ($43) for most nationalities. 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. 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.

At some border crossings, a passport photo is not longer needed. But this is Laos, so don’t count on that 100%. You can have a photo 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.

On arrival at the border, you should not need to show a return plane ticket or a tour itinerary or any other support documents like that. But it does happen very occasionally. Thai Airways sometimes does it (better to fly with Air Asia, Bangkok Airways etc.), and 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 may 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.

When you enter Laos, they should give you an Exit Form, which you should complete and keep with you to present at the border when you leave Laos. They often do not provide this document, and most of the time no one asks for it when leaving Laos. But sometimes they do ask for it (particularly if you are leaving the country in the evening or on weekends). If they ask for it when you are leaving, and you do not already have one, then you have a legal right to ask for a free blank form and fill it out right there — no charge. Sometimes they try to demand a $5 bribe for this, but unless you are in a big hurry, I would stay calm and patient and refuse to pay it. Eventually theu will let you through.

If you are taking the train between Laos and China, you CANNOT use Visa on Arrival. Laos does not allow that on the train because it takes too long. 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 may change 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”. If you’re in Vientiane, Thakhek, Huay Xai or abyplace else in Laos that is right on the Thai border, you can leave Laos, cross the bridge into Thailand (getting a free Thai Visa on Arrival), turnright back around, exit Thailand, and buy a new 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.)

When you leave Laos, you may be pasked to present an Exit Document that should have been given to you whhe $5 thing is a known issue at several exit points, usually after hour departures, but bleeds into routine hours to extort a gift from you. Refuse to pay. If they demand, ask for receipt with stamp. They usually back down. It has nothing to do with the form, they just want a little extra money.

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.