Laos entry stamp scam.

[Lacessit]

Apparently some Immigration officials in Laos have come up with a new income stream.

 

USD 40 to enter Laos. You get the visa stamp, but no entry stamp.

 

When it comes time to leave Laos, you have no entry stamp. Fine USD 100.

 

Has anyone heard of this? Sounds like a good way to kill tourism.

[Harrisfan]

Visa stamp has entry written on it

[Upnotover]

10 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Visa stamp has entry written on it

Lao visa on arrival had date of issue on it.  Entry stamp is a different thing.

[Nick Carter icp]

37 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

USD 40 to enter Laos. You get the visa stamp, but no entry stamp.

 

   The visa acquiring kiosk is in one place , then you need to through immigration and get stamped  (although in some places they can provide the visa and also stamp you in )

   I expect the person bought the visa and just walked straight in without getting stamped in .

   Should always check you stamp in date when going through immigration 

[scubascuba3]

Should be ok at airport 

[Sir Dude]

If you can be bothered and want to be organised, then I'd say go to the Laos consulate in Khon Kaen on the the way up there, and get your paperwork etc. done before you reach the border, which makes things smoother on arrival. Also, Khon Kaen is a good city to spend a night in and has a huge university, so that means plenty of hotel and nightlife options.

[The Fugitive]

Have heard of similar at land borders in other countries. Where queues are long, 'runners' assist for a fee by collecting passports from all persons in each vehicle, taking them to be stamped and returning them to your car. However, one of the passports hasn't been stamped in. Police on the other side of the border stop vehicles for all person/all document checks and extract bribes for permitting the person to continue on their way.

[ThreeCardMonte]

The entry stamp or permission to stay stamp which is separate from the visa itself should be entered in the passport by the IO.

 

Wether it was left out internationally or by mistake is  up for debate.

 

Passport holder should check before walking away.

[mancub]

At Chong Mek border the Laos officials have been known to "overlook" stamping border runners out , with the intent of shaking you down next time for "overstay", although you have only just re=entered. 

[Briggsy]

19 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Apparently some Immigration officials in Laos have come up with a new income stream.

 

USD 40 to enter Laos. You get the visa stamp, but no entry stamp.

 

When it comes time to leave Laos, you have no entry stamp. Fine USD 100.

 

Has anyone heard of this? Sounds like a good way to kill tourism.

This was a classic Vietnamese scam back in the day.

 

Years ago, you needed to specify your entry and exit point before entering Vietnam. With a visa but no entry stamp, you were then fined on exit. They targetted those with different exit and entry points as the foreigner was 100 kms from where the "mistake" occurred when they were fined.

[Caldera]

20 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Apparently some Immigration officials in Laos have come up with a new income stream.

 

USD 40 to enter Laos. You get the visa stamp, but no entry stamp.

 

When it comes time to leave Laos, you have no entry stamp. Fine USD 100.

 

Has anyone heard of this? Sounds like a good way to kill tourism.

 

Sounds more like a careless traveler to me who didn't queue up to get his entry stamp after getting his visa on arrival. Two different things, usually processed at two different counters.

 

And in any case, you never walk away from an immigration checkpoint before you've had a good look at your passport to ensure that everything is in order. 

[Sydebolle]

It remains the responsibility of the passport holder to check each and every time, if/what those goons behind the immigration desk are doing. One in ten stamps are wrong - my experience - but if addressed IMMEDIATELY while still close to the immigration desk you get it fixed always.
Address the officer polite by asking "I am not sure but don't you think, there should be an entry (or whatever stamp, signature, entry or date) here?" Prevents a complete loss of face which in this part of the world means the total apocalypse 😉 

[impulse]

Good cautionary tale, and also a good reason to always have some extra cash with you when you travel. 

 

I'm also a little easier on noobs who may not know the ins and outs (and the difference between a visa on arrival and an entry stamp).  That's something you usually figure out after crossing multiple borders.

 

[keysersoze276]

As others have said, this definitely sounds like the person got their visa and walked past the booths to get the entry stamp. 
 

The confusing part is this “apparently “ happened. I’d imagine it happened to the OP, although he/she could have heard a story of someone else not getting their stamp and then the OP posted it here thinking it was a scam. 

On 4/9/2025 at 12:12 PM, Lacessit said:

When it comes time to leave Laos, you have no entry stamp. Fine USD 100

Sounds quite lenient for illegal entry.  

 

On 4/9/2025 at 12:12 PM, Lacessit said:

Has anyone heard of this?

Yes. There have been a few reports in the past of people getting their LAOS visa at the border and crossing without getting stamped in.  It happens. Be sure to take a moment to check the date of the visa AND the stamp.  Mistakes also happen from immigration officers. 

[khunano]

3 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

It remains the responsibility of the passport holder to check each and every time, if/what those goons behind the immigration desk are doing. One in ten stamps are wrong - my experience - but if addressed IMMEDIATELY while still close to the immigration desk you get it fixed always.
Address the officer polite by asking "I am not sure but don't you think, there should be an entry (or whatever stamp, signature, entry or date) here?" Prevents a complete loss of face which in this part of the world means the total apocalypse 😉 

Exactly, better check twice than not at all. Once however, upon arriving at Suwarnabhumi Airport, the IO didn't admit to his error when I pointed it out to him and sent me away. Had to go to the One Stop Service Center the next day to get his mistake fixed 😒 

[BangkokHank]

This is NOT a case of careless travelers. It is DEFINITELY a case of scamming Lao immigration officials. It is not possible to  "walk past the booths to get the entry stamps", as some people have suggested. Try it yourself if you don't believe me.

 

Exactly the same thing happened to me 10 years ago when I flew into Vientiane to visit the Thai Embassy there for a visa. When I arrived at the Embassy, they had a look at my passport and told me that they could not process my visa without an entry stamp. I was very surprised to learn that I didn't have a stamp because I distinctly remembered giving my passport to the guy who was supposed to stamp it. So I hurried back to the airport and explained what had happened, and, as they remembered me (it's not a busy airport), they gave me the stamp.

 

I had gone through all the right procedures and given my passport to all of the officials in the visa issuing/stamping queue at the airport. So this was a deliberate omission on the part of the officials at the airport. And it's not like they might have accidentally forgotten to stamp my passport. The guy sitting there has one job and one job only to do: Stamping the passports of entering tourists. It is IMPOSSIBLE for him to accidentally overlook this step.

 

So clearly, it would be a good habit to always check your passport for the required stamps upon entering any country, especially ones that have made a lucrative scam out of deliberately NOT stamping passports, such as Laos, as is now known.

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, BangkokHank said:

This is NOT a case of careless travelers. It is DEFINITELY a case of scamming Lao immigration officials. It is not possible to  "walk past the booths to get the entry stamps", as some people have suggested. Try it yourself if you don't believe me.

 

Exactly the same thing happened to me 10 years ago when I flew into Vientiane to visit the Thai Embassy there for a visa. When I arrived at the Embassy, they had a look at my passport and told me that they could not process my visa without an entry stamp. I was very surprised to learn that I didn't have a stamp because I distinctly remembered giving my passport to the guy who was supposed to stamp it. So I hurried back to the airport and explained what had happened, and, as they remembered me (it's not a busy airport), they gave me the stamp.

 

I had gone through all the right procedures and given my passport to all of the officials in the visa issuing/stamping queue at the airport. So this was a deliberate omission on the part of the officials at the airport. And it's not like they might have accidentally forgotten to stamp my passport. The guy sitting there has one job and one job only to do: Stamping the passports of entering tourists. It is IMPOSSIBLE for him to accidentally overlook this step.

 

So clearly, it would be a good habit to always check your passport for the required stamps upon entering any country, especially ones that have made a lucrative scam out of deliberately NOT stamping passports, such as Laos, as is now known.

A better idea to avoid Laos as a destination. It's off my list now.

[Upnotover]

6 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

A better idea to avoid Laos as a destination. It's off my list now.

Good beer and good bread.  Worth the effort of checking your passport on entry.

[Lacessit]

4 minutes ago, Upnotover said:

Good beer and good bread.  Worth the effort of checking your passport on entry.

Been there once already. Vientiane. I was thinking of Luang Prabang.

 

The scammers probably don't realise they are crapping in their own nest.

[BangkokHank]

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

The scammers probably don't realise they are crapping in their own nest.

Right. Nowadays people talk when they get scammed - like we're doing now.