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.

Visa policy map

Visa exemption

Citizens of the following 15 countries can visit Laos without a visa :
Date of visa changes

  • 2004: Vietnam
  • 2004: Cambodia
  • 2004: Singapore
  • 2004: Malaysia
  • 2004: Thailand
  • 2005: Brunei
  • 12 July 2005: Philippines
  • 1 January 2007: Japan
  • 1 September 2007: Russia
  • 14 October 2007: Mongolia
  • 1 September 2008: South Korea
  • 7 July 2009: Luxembourg and Switzerland
  • 2009: Myanmar
  • 2011: Indonesia
  • 1 August 2018: Sri Lanka
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.
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.

Visa on arrival

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

eVisa

Laos launched an eVisa service in July 2019.
eVisa for Laos is available to citizens of all countries except countries whose citizens are ineligible for visa on arrival. eVisa is valid for 60 days from the date of issuance and its holders may stay for up to 30 days in Laos. 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:
Most visitors arriving to Laos were from the following countries of nationality:
Country2017201620152014201320122011
1,797,8032,009,6052,321,3522,043,7612,059,4341,937,6121,579,941
891,643998,4001,187,9541,108,332910,164705,596561,586
639,185545,493511,436422,440245,033199,857150,791
170,571173,260165,32896,08581,79953,82934,707
38,76558,09463,05861,46061,60853,38050,092
36,76054,95355,15152,14652,41146,90344,399
32,06449,19143,82644,87748,64442,02637,883
27,72339,17041,50839,06141,74135,96435,622
23,77634,01831,89729,80029,25023,41721,280
20,88633,07734,65544,96435,44133,87831,874
Total3,868,8384,239,0474,684,4294,158,7193,779,4903,330,0723,330,072