Taking My Car To Laos

[wcr]

Firstly I apologise if this has already been asked before.

I want to take my car to Laos. I have asked my insurance company Viriyah (through a Thai employee) how I get insurance and what I believe I need a car passport.

The message I got back today was you are not allowed to take your car to Laos it is too dangerous. People are being murdered and then having their cars stolen. Drive to Nong Khai and leave it there.

Well I don't want to do that, I want to take it into Laos. My partner is Laos and when I mentioned about the killings he couldn't believe it. He said there were many cars driving around Vientiane from Bangkok, and northern cities of Thailand.

So my question is, how do I legally take my car into Laos? I've heard about the car passport. What is it, and where do I get one?

Many thanks,

[technocracy]

The message I got back today was you are not allowed to take your car to Laos it is too dangerous. People are being murdered and then having their cars stolen. Drive to Nong Khai and leave it there.

Well I don't want to do that, I want to take it into Laos. My partner is Laos and when I mentioned about the killings he couldn't believe it. He said there were many cars driving around Vientiane from Bangkok, and northern cities of Thailand.

:D

Well that's just cheered my day up!! This is Laos not South Africa! The likelihood of having you car stolen is far lower than in Thailand and as for being murdered . . . erm no. Many times I've accidently left the car parked and unlocked without issue, also leaving things on the back (pickup) and it's always been there when I've returned.

Only today a <deleted> (Thai not falang) in Thai number plated car decided that he was above waiting in the orderly queue into the morning market car park that is pretty much always there and cut into the front of the line. Invariably Laos driving is slow and vague (and not very good!) but in general not aggressive in the slightest a small toot on the horn and folks will move over without issue. Unfortunately Thai's seem to believe driving like a <deleted> is a requirement regardless of what country they are in. All is the pity it was a Lao person he cut up in line and not me otherwise he would of got nowhere!

You do need a car passport but I don't know where you get them from in Thailand for a Thai car - now if you had a Lao car and were in Vientiane . . . I could help!

Edit: The car passport is literally that a passport for the car that is stamp in and out as you enter and leave the country.

Edited August 28, 2007 by technocracy

[silverhawk_usa]

The message I got back today was you are not allowed to take your car to Laos it is too dangerous. People are being murdered and then having their cars stolen. Drive to Nong Khai and leave it there.

Well I don't want to do that, I want to take it into Laos. My partner is Laos and when I mentioned about the killings he couldn't believe it. He said there were many cars driving around Vientiane from Bangkok, and northern cities of Thailand.

:D

Well that's just cheered my day up!! This is Laos not South Africa! The likelihood of having you car stolen is far lower than in Thailand and as for being murdered . . . erm no. Many times I've accidently left the car parked and unlocked without issue, also leaving things on the back (pickup) and it's always been there when I've returned.

Only today a <deleted> (Thai not falang) in Thai number plated car decided that he was above waiting in the orderly queue into the morning market car park that is pretty much always there and cut into the front of the line. Invariably Laos driving is slow and vague (and not very good!) but in general not aggressive in the slightest a small toot on the horn and folks will move over without issue. Unfortunately Thai's seem to believe driving like a <deleted> is a requirement regardless of what country they are in. All is the pity it was a Lao person he cut up in line and not me otherwise he would of got nowhere!

You do need a car passport but I don't know where you get them from in Thailand for a Thai car - now if you had a Lao car and were in Vientiane . . . I could help!

Edit: The car passport is literally that a passport for the car that is stamp in and out as you enter and leave the country.

You usually get the "International Transport Permit" at the Land Transport Office that your car is registered at. I have also obtained one at Nong Khai before crossing the border but it took an extra day.

As far as I know most Thai insurance companies will not cover your Thai vehicle in Laos. You must buy insurance in Laos which covers liability only, available at the border. Sometimes you just have to take your chances or stay home!

I have traveled thousands of kilometers in Laos (no exaggeration) by motorcycle and also spent a number of weeks by car. No worries! It is a great place for travel and the people are even more friendly than LOS in my opinion. Go and have fun. Check my website if you want more first hand info www.daearly.com.

[LivinLOS]

How bad are Laotian Rds ??

Can a normal hatchback car handle them or are they cambodian level rough.. I have a VW golf and have been debating doing a Laos roadtrip if the GF gets some time from work. I dont mind bad roads but is it 4x4 and pickup only ??

[Jai Dee]

A month or so ago, I took my car (3 year old 2 litre 4 door sedan) over to Vientienne for a long weekend.

The roads are fine... but as said previously, the vagaries of Lao driving habits mean that rarely can you travel faster than 50 km/hr. I only travelled around in about a 100km radius of the city, so cannot comment on the condition of the roads further into the country.

To obtain an "International Transport Permit" you can get one at the Land Transport Office in Nong Khai. It's not easy to find so may be best to do as I did - find the local Tourist Information Centre (which is reasonably well signposted all over town) and ask for directions there. Make sure that you have all the required paperwork for your car... registration certificate, tabien, etc.

I was lucky... I didn't have all the paperwork, but the girl behind the desk took pity on us for driving all the way up from Chonburi and checked the licence number in the Transport Office computer system. Results: car make, model, engine number etc. and the name of the owner... my wife. She just produced her ID card to validate the process and 500 baht later, we were issued with the permit and a couple of white oval T stickers to put on the car to indicate Thailand ownership (and right-hand drive vehicle to the Laotians). The whole process took about an hour and a half. Note: the vehicle must be fully owned by the applicant to obtain a Permit... a rental vehicle will not qualify.

The next step involves some kind of nominal stamp duty to be paid at the Immigration office block on the Thai side of the Friendship bridge, before you go to Immigration. This is a frustrating and complicated bureaucratic process that can take an hour or so. Patient questions/answers and a polite approach is the only way to go. Keep your cool.

After obtaining the relevant stamps in the International Transport Permit, you can then get your passport stamped out of the country at the Immigration checkpoint, jump in the car, pay your 20 baht toll, and cross the bridge into Laos.

On the Laos side of the Mekhong, you will first come to a set of traffic lights that cross over travel direction, so that when they turn green, you will be driving on the right hand side of the road. (All traffic in Laos drives on the right, not the left as in Thailand). You then come to a halt before the immigration offices where they spray your vehicle's wheels with some kind of disinfectant. After spraying, proceed towards the private vehicles queue and park and lock your car wherever you can find a space.

Proceed on foot past the immigration checkpoints (walk down the middle of the road... it's OK) to the building on the right with the sign in English that reads "Insurance". Take all your paperwork, passports, drivers licence etc with you and ask for insurance for however many days you will be staying in Laos. 3 days cost me 180 baht, so it isn't expensive. The man behind the counter will take about half an hour filling out heaps of forms for you to sign... then after paying, you will be issued copies of the insurance paperwork.

Leave the insurance building and proceed on foot back to the immigration checkpoints, where you can purchase your entry visa (about 1300 baht for non-ASEAN personnel, Thais are free) and head over to one of the immigration clearance queues. Explain to the immigration official that you also wish to take your vehicle into Laos (point to the car and show your Permit, insurance papers etc) and you will be directed to another set of offices where some small money (baht is OK) is exchanged, and your Permit will be stamped into Laos. They do look for the stamp duty notes in your Permit (something to do with illegal car racketeering) so make sure that you do this before crossing the bridge. This whole process can take anywhere from 2-3 hours. Don't forget to check yourself though immigration as well.

You can then get back into your car and drive onwards towards Vientienne (about 20km away). Don't forget... drive on the right hand side of the road.

There are no boom gates of any other kind of physical kinds of restraints on the Lao side to prevent you from driving on... and on the surface, the border checkpoint seems to be fairly relaxed and chaotic. But rest assured, you will have been noticed and watched since you first drove up and parked the car. Smile, look happy, be polite and deferential to the officials, be patient, and you will have no problems at all.

All in all, it is a time-consuming and sometimes frustrating process to take your car into Laos, but if you're like me and want to enjoy the independence of being able to drive wherever I want, whenever I want, the results are worth it.

[technocracy]

Above perfectly describes your trip into Laos and over the FB.

On the note of the roads in Laos it depends on where your roadtrip will take you.

A normal car non 4x4 will take you to Luang Prabang although on some parts of the road you need watch out for potholes the size of your car! I almost removed the chassis on a rental Ford Ranger 4x4 a few years back at about 100kmph I saw this large hole appear and the brakes just couldn't slow us in time! But hey it was a rental!!

Also the roads from Vientiane down to the south are actually very good and very straight once you get out to Thakek. Just watch out for the lunatic bus drivers who slow for no man!!

The roads from Luang Prabang round to Phonsavanh are fine also - this road (I forget the numbers but I think it's Road 7) is in my opinion an unmissable route due to it being such a haunting journey. On the route 13 if your heading from Vientiane to LP you come to a small village with a fork in the road follow the road round to the left goes LP take the right turn heads for Phonsavanh. This road takes you into the Phonsavanh region here is where the US bombardment was targetted the road winds between and passes hillsides that are scarred with craters and agent orange damage. At first you see a few and think are they bomb craters? Then the further you go you cannot miss the destruction all around you with the bare hill tops, very though provoking what it must of been like when it was taking place you can only wander.

In general problems only begin when you leave the main roads - nearly all turn into dirt tracks and after heavy rain some maybe not be passable in a saloon. The north of the country i.e. Xam Neua, Bokeo etc in general are 4x4 only stuff in rainy season. However I haven't been up country for a few years and there was supposedly road improvement work planned for many of the bad roads.

I do remember my nightmare 16 hours bus journey from Xam Neua round to Nong Kiaw via the northern loop when I first visited . . . and it was not a nice experience!!!

If your just intended to stick around main towns then you won't have any problems in a saloon just the need to avoid pots holes here and there. The roads surrounding and in the centre of Vientiane have all recently been relaid (well some are still in progress) with the help of Japan where these have been done there roads are very good.

[LivinLOS]

Great stuff.. Superb detailed reports and I couldnt ask for more !!! I have already asked and can get my car passport here locally before setting off.

Really gets the travel bug hitting.. I am only just back a week or so from Rickshaw racing 2000kms across India ( www.indianarc.com ) but I have promised the GF to take her to Luang Prabang after her seeing something about its temples and I like to drive around a place to get more of a feel.

Thansk for stirring the bug again

[technocracy]

Great stuff.. Superb detailed reports and I couldnt ask for more !!! I have already asked and can get my car passport here locally before setting off.

Really gets the travel bug hitting.. I am only just back a week or so from Rickshaw racing 2000kms across India ( www.indianarc.com ) but I have promised the GF to take her to Luang Prabang after her seeing something about its temples and I like to drive around a place to get more of a feel.

Thansk for stirring the bug again

No worries - hope you have a great trip!

We keep saying we'll take off and see more of Lao - but when it's on the doorstep you kind of get lazy!

The road to LP is rather fun when you reach the mountains it's just switchback after switchback - I lost count of how many. That said it is a bit of torturous drive to do all in one day direct from Vientiane all in around 8-12 hours depending on your speed. Also if your GF isn't the greatest with motion sickness you'll be making a few unplanned stops!

Vang Vieng is certainly worth a stop over on the way (just avoid the backpackers huddled in bars watching Friends and eating 'happy' pizza or pancakes!) if anything just for the scenary - although the tubing is fantastic fun!

[wcr]

A month or so ago, I took my car (3 year old 2 litre 4 door sedan) over to Vientienne for a long weekend.

The roads are fine... but as said previously, the vagaries of Lao driving habits mean that rarely can you travel faster than 50 km/hr. I only travelled around in about a 100km radius of the city, so cannot comment on the condition of the roads further into the country.

To obtain an "International Transport Permit" you can get one at the Land Transport Office in Nong Khai. It's not easy to find so may be best to do as I did - find the local Tourist Information Centre (which is reasonably well signposted all over town) and ask for directions there. Make sure that you have all the required paperwork for your car... registration certificate, tabien, etc.

I was lucky... I didn't have all the paperwork, but the girl behind the desk took pity on us for driving all the way up from Chonburi and checked the licence number in the Transport Office computer system. Results: car make, model, engine number etc. and the name of the owner... my wife. She just produced her ID card to validate the process and 500 baht later, we were issued with the permit and a couple of white oval T stickers to put on the car to indicate Thailand ownership (and right-hand drive vehicle to the Laotians). The whole process took about an hour and a half. Note: the vehicle must be fully owned by the applicant to obtain a Permit... a rental vehicle will not qualify.

The next step involves some kind of nominal stamp duty to be paid at the Immigration office block on the Thai side of the Friendship bridge, before you go to Immigration. This is a frustrating and complicated bureaucratic process that can take an hour or so. Patient questions/answers and a polite approach is the only way to go. Keep your cool.

After obtaining the relevant stamps in the International Transport Permit, you can then get your passport stamped out of the country at the Immigration checkpoint, jump in the car, pay your 20 baht toll, and cross the bridge into Laos.

On the Laos side of the Mekhong, you will first come to a set of traffic lights that cross over travel direction, so that when they turn green, you will be driving on the right hand side of the road. (All traffic in Laos drives on the right, not the left as in Thailand). You then come to a halt before the immigration offices where they spray your vehicle's wheels with some kind of disinfectant. After spraying, proceed towards the private vehicles queue and park and lock your car wherever you can find a space.

Proceed on foot past the immigration checkpoints (walk down the middle of the road... it's OK) to the building on the right with the sign in English that reads "Insurance". Take all your paperwork, passports, drivers licence etc with you and ask for insurance for however many days you will be staying in Laos. 3 days cost me 180 baht, so it isn't expensive. The man behind the counter will take about half an hour filling out heaps of forms for you to sign... then after paying, you will be issued copies of the insurance paperwork.

Leave the insurance building and proceed on foot back to the immigration checkpoints, where you can purchase your entry visa (about 1300 baht for non-ASEAN personnel, Thais are free) and head over to one of the immigration clearance queues. Explain to the immigration official that you also wish to take your vehicle into Laos (point to the car and show your Permit, insurance papers etc) and you will be directed to another set of offices where some small money (baht is OK) is exchanged, and your Permit will be stamped into Laos. They do look for the stamp duty notes in your Permit (something to do with illegal car racketeering) so make sure that you do this before crossing the bridge. This whole process can take anywhere from 2-3 hours. Don't forget to check yourself though immigration as well.

You can then get back into your car and drive onwards towards Vientienne (about 20km away). Don't forget... drive on the right hand side of the road.

There are no boom gates of any other kind of physical kinds of restraints on the Lao side to prevent you from driving on... and on the surface, the border checkpoint seems to be fairly relaxed and chaotic. But rest assured, you will have been noticed and watched since you first drove up and parked the car. Smile, look happy, be polite and deferential to the officials, be patient, and you will have no problems at all.

All in all, it is a time-consuming and sometimes frustrating process to take your car into Laos, but if you're like me and want to enjoy the independence of being able to drive wherever I want, whenever I want, the results are worth it.

Thanks for this. I have actually driven in Laos this year. I had a rental car. But they are expensive compared to Thailand.

I have had a couple of people tell me that there is a 10,000 baht fee when you take your car into Laos. Is this true?

Also when you come back into Thailand with your car, is the process as long winded, or is it quicker. BTW I will be driving up from Pattaya.

Thanks again everyone for your detailed imputs.

[sutnyod]

How bad are Laotian Rds ??

Rule of thumb: the more (remaining) forest, the worser the roads . Logging trucks can completely undermine a road. Try to go to Dakchung if you don't know what I mean. Potholes as big as a lorry. But the roads along the beaten track are better than in Cambodia and the driving is not as reckless as there. Take a lot of small bills because they want you to pay bridge fee at every provincial border or nowadays even inside (but then it's called road fee, gggrrrrrr).

Edited August 31, 2007 by sutnyod

[Jai Dee]

I have had a couple of people tell me that there is a 10,000 baht fee when you take your car into Laos. Is this true?

No - as I said, the International Transport Permit will cost you 500 baht, and the subsequent taxes/stamp duty to be paid at Immigration is only a couple of hundred baht max. I'm not sure of the exact amount because my missus handled it and I only gave her 500 baht and she came back with plenty of change.

Also when you come back into Thailand with your car, is the process as long winded, or is it quicker. BTW I will be driving up from Pattaya.

No pain at all on re-entry to Thailand. You already have all the required paperwork with the appropriate stamps of approval and passage. Don't forget that will have to obtain and complete the necessary Immigration entry form when coming back into Thailand. You don't need to queue up with all the foot/bus passengers... the vehicle entry Immigration booth also has these forms available and a small desk to write on. Don't forget to take a ballpoint pen.

[freezacrowd]

Hi.Thanks for the info,, I intend to drive my 4x4 open jeep ( Thai registered ) to Lao ,late October ( visa run ) then on return I want to drive through Cambodia via Aranyaprathet / Poi pet .To Srihanookville. In the dry season

I am told I can get a passport rot (International trasport permit) at the land transport office in Nongkai.. @ Questions.. ! is it good for a time, or for only one trip, IE 6month 12 month? Q 2 Does it also allow me to go to Cambodia,,, Q 3 What if I crossed the border at Nongkai, Then drove South to the Lao / Cambodian border ( dont know if I can do that yet ) and came back to Thailand from Cambodia?

Edited August 31, 2007 by Jai Dee
quote limits corrected for clarity

[Jai Dee]

Hi.Thanks for the info,, I intend to drive my 4x4 open jeep ( Thai registered ) to Lao ,late October ( visa run ) then on return I want to drive through Cambodia via Aranyaprathet / Poi pet .To Srihanookville. In the dry season

I am told I can get a passport rot (International trasport permit) at the land transport office in Nongkai.. @ Questions.. ! is it good for a time, or for only one trip, IE 6month 12 month? Q 2 Does it also allow me to go to Cambodia,,, Q 3 What if I crossed the border at Nongkai, Then drove South to the Lao / Cambodian border ( dont know if I can do that yet ) and came back to Thailand from Cambodia?

Q1. A. The expiry date on your International Transport Permit will be the same as the expiry date on your vehicle registration. It can be renewed at any Land Transport office, but only after your vehicle registration has been renewed.

Q2. A. Don't know, but probably. Best to check at the Land Transport office.

Q3. A. Don't know... but there are probably restrictions on a Thai-registered vehicle on temporary insurance crossing the Lao/Cambo border. Some more experienced travellers on the forum may be able to answer that for you. I will say however, that it is likely to be one hel_l of a drive... a couple of thousand kilometers at least... and the Cambodian roads are worse than Laos. You would have to have a very reliable vehicle and take plenty of supplies with you.

/Edit - If you are thinking about driving around some of the back roads and not the major highways (if you can call them that) in Cambodia... a word of warning: there is still a lot of UXO (un-exploded ordinance) around. But if you wish to discuss driving in Cambodia I suggest you start a new thread on the topic.

Edited August 31, 2007 by Jai Dee
Additional comment added.

[technocracy]

Hi.Thanks for the info,, I intend to drive my 4x4 open jeep ( Thai registered ) to Lao ,late October ( visa run ) then on return I want to drive through Cambodia via Aranyaprathet / Poi pet .To Srihanookville. In the dry season

I am told I can get a passport rot (International trasport permit) at the land transport office in Nongkai.. @ Questions.. ! is it good for a time, or for only one trip, IE 6month 12 month? Q 2 Does it also allow me to go to Cambodia,,, Q 3 What if I crossed the border at Nongkai, Then drove South to the Lao / Cambodian border ( dont know if I can do that yet ) and came back to Thailand from Cambodia?

Just too add a bit more info to Jai Dee's answers

Q2) You permit should allow you into Cambodia however this ties into Q3.

Q3) You will struggle to cross into Cambodia at the south of Laos since this is an unofficial border and is not *supposed* to be used by non-Lao and Cambodian nationals. However daily trips for backpackers/tourist etc do cross but depending of the mood of the guards will depend firstly if you're allowed to cross or how much it will cost! As for taking a car . .. . unlikely! Probably best divert back up to Pakse cross back into Thailand then head over at Poipet - not the best scenario I know but you'll probably have more success.

[technocracy]

I have had a couple of people tell me that there is a 10,000 baht fee when you take your car into Laos. Is this true?

Depends what they had in there car and how much tea money it required for the border guards to let them through they hadn't been gathering poppies had they?!?!

But seriously no . . as Jai Dee says a few hundred baht is all that is required.

[freezacrowd]

A month or so ago, I took my car (3 year old 2 litre 4 door sedan) over to Vientienne for a long weekend.

The roads are fine... but as said previously, the vagaries of Lao driving habits mean that rarely can you travel faster than 50 km/hr. I only travelled around in about a 100km radius of the city, so cannot comment on the condition of the roads further into the country.

To obtain an "International Transport Permit" you can get one at the Land Transport Office in Nong Khai. It's not easy to find so may be best to do as I did - find the local Tourist Information Centre (which is reasonably well signposted all over town) and ask for directions there. Make sure that you have all the required paperwork for your car... registration certificate, tabien, etc.

I was lucky... I didn't have all the paperwork, but the girl behind the desk took pity on us for driving all the way up from Chonburi and checked the licence number in the Transport Office computer system. Results: car make, model, engine number etc. and the name of the owner... my wife. She just produced her ID card to validate the process and 500 baht later, we were issued with the permit and a couple of white oval T stickers to put on the car to indicate Thailand ownership (and right-hand drive vehicle to the Laotians). The whole process took about an hour and a half. Note: the vehicle must be fully owned by the applicant to obtain a Permit... a rental vehicle will not qualify.

The next step involves some kind of nominal stamp duty to be paid at the Immigration office block on the Thai side of the Friendship bridge, before you go to Immigration. This is a frustrating and complicated bureaucratic process that can take an hour or so. Patient questions/answers and a polite approach is the only way to go. Keep your cool.

After obtaining the relevant stamps in the International Transport Permit, you can then get your passport stamped out of the country at the Immigration checkpoint, jump in the car, pay your 20 baht toll, and cross the bridge into Laos.

On the Laos side of the Mekhong, you will first come to a set of traffic lights that cross over travel direction, so that when they turn green, you will be driving on the right hand side of the road. (All traffic in Laos drives on the right, not the left as in Thailand). You then come to a halt before the immigration offices where they spray your vehicle's wheels with some kind of disinfectant. After spraying, proceed towards the private vehicles queue and park and lock your car wherever you can find a space.

Proceed on foot past the immigration checkpoints (walk down the middle of the road... it's OK) to the building on the right with the sign in English that reads "Insurance". Take all your paperwork, passports, drivers licence etc with you and ask for insurance for however many days you will be staying in Laos. 3 days cost me 180 baht, so it isn't expensive. The man behind the counter will take about half an hour filling out heaps of forms for you to sign... then after paying, you will be issued copies of the insurance paperwork.

Leave the insurance building and proceed on foot back to the immigration checkpoints, where you can purchase your entry visa (about 1300 baht for non-ASEAN personnel, Thais are free) and head over to one of the immigration clearance queues. Explain to the immigration official that you also wish to take your vehicle into Laos (point to the car and show your Permit, insurance papers etc) and you will be directed to another set of offices where some small money (baht is OK) is exchanged, and your Permit will be stamped into Laos. They do look for the stamp duty notes in your Permit (something to do with illegal car racketeering) so make sure that you do this before crossing the bridge. This whole process can take anywhere from 2-3 hours. Don't forget to check yourself though immigration as well.

You can then get back into your car and drive onwards towards Vientienne (about 20km away). Don't forget... drive on the right hand side of the road.

There are no boom gates of any other kind of physical kinds of restraints on the Lao side to prevent you from driving on... and on the surface, the border checkpoint seems to be fairly relaxed and chaotic. But rest assured, you will have been noticed and watched since you first drove up and parked the car. Smile, look happy, be polite and deferential to the officials, be patient, and you will have no problems at all.

All in all, it is a time-consuming and sometimes frustrating process to take your car into Laos, but if you're like me and want to enjoy the independence of being able to drive wherever I want, whenever I want, the results are worth it.

[Offroadlanna]

I have had a couple of people tell me that there is a 10,000 baht fee when you take your car into Laos. Is this true?

But seriously no . . as Jai Dee says a few hundred baht is all that is required.

Just crossed yesterday. On the Thai side you need to have your "Passport Rot" which you can get at the Land Transport Department in the province where your car is registered (70 Baht and it took 1 week in Chiangmai). If the car is not in your name make sure that you have written permission from the owner of the car unless the owner joins. On the Thai side you need to fill in some forms: 2 Copies of "Information of Conveyance" (information on engine, chaasis no. number plate, owners name and the number passengers and crew, 1 copy of the Crew List (basically only the names and passport number of the crew) and 1 copy of the Passenger List (again name and passport number of the passengers).

In Nongkhai at the bridge head to the immigration counter where they will stamp you passport and you will get 1 copy of the "Information of Conveyance" document duly stamped. Then head to the booth next the immigration booth (on the right - I think it is called the Customs). Hand in your passport, "Passport Rot" and the "Information of Conveyance Form). They will make an Application for Temporary Export which you need to sign. With all these papers head to the booth opposite (also Customs) where they will sign you out and you will be able to leave Thailand. On the Lao side, take you passport (with visa in case you don't have a visa you can apply on the spot for about 32 USD) and the "Passport Rot" to one of the immigration booth's, get your passport stamped and your "Passport Rot" stamped. After that you will have to get the import permit (Hand in your "passport rot" and pay 310 Baht for a 1 week permit which is a green form in 2 copies and a kind of sticker). If you want to stay longer than 1 week mention that - about 560 Baht for 2 weeks, longer period needs a special permit from the big boss who is not always in the mood to give that. With the two green forms and the sticker, passport rot and your passport you drive up to the booth where they will sign you in and will keep one of the copies of the green form.

Next head to the insurance office (on you right hand side (AIG or something like that) and pay for insurance for the number of days you plan to stay.

Can go very fast if you know the ropes - took me yesterday only 20 minutes from arriving at the Thai side to driving into Laos.

Hope this helps

[wcr]

I have had a couple of people tell me that there is a 10,000 baht fee when you take your car into Laos. Is this true?

But seriously no . . as Jai Dee says a few hundred baht is all that is required.

Just crossed yesterday. On the Thai side you need to have your "Passport Rot" which you can get at the Land Transport Department in the province where your car is registered (70 Baht and it took 1 week in Chiangmai). If the car is not in your name make sure that you have written permission from the owner of the car unless the owner joins. On the Thai side you need to fill in some forms: 2 Copies of "Information of Conveyance" (information on engine, chaasis no. number plate, owners name and the number passengers and crew, 1 copy of the Crew List (basically only the names and passport number of the crew) and 1 copy of the Passenger List (again name and passport number of the passengers).

In Nongkhai at the bridge head to the immigration counter where they will stamp you passport and you will get 1 copy of the "Information of Conveyance" document duly stamped. Then head to the booth next the immigration booth (on the right - I think it is called the Customs). Hand in your passport, "Passport Rot" and the "Information of Conveyance Form). They will make an Application for Temporary Export which you need to sign. With all these papers head to the booth opposite (also Customs) where they will sign you out and you will be able to leave Thailand. On the Lao side, take you passport (with visa in case you don't have a visa you can apply on the spot for about 32 USD) and the "Passport Rot" to one of the immigration booth's, get your passport stamped and your "Passport Rot" stamped. After that you will have to get the import permit (Hand in your "passport rot" and pay 310 Baht for a 1 week permit which is a green form in 2 copies and a kind of sticker). If you want to stay longer than 1 week mention that - about 560 Baht for 2 weeks, longer period needs a special permit from the big boss who is not always in the mood to give that. With the two green forms and the sticker, passport rot and your passport you drive up to the booth where they will sign you in and will keep one of the copies of the green form.

Next head to the insurance office (on you right hand side (AIG or something like that) and pay for insurance for the number of days you plan to stay.

Can go very fast if you know the ropes - took me yesterday only 20 minutes from arriving at the Thai side to driving into Laos.

Hope this helps

Great information.

Thanks to everyone who has helped me out with this. I'll be on my way for my 7 day break next month.

[samran]

Just to add my experience, I took my car up to Vientiene:

Thai Side

As you drive up to the friendship bridge you'll come to a set of booths that line the road, in a similar way to toll boths. Take the lane designate for 'Private Vehicles'. Unlike toll booths (or the US- Mexican border) however, don't pull up to them to speak to someone. Instead, pull over into one of the parking bays to get you hands on the paper work.

1) Go to booth 6A which will have a sign saying "To notify Importation of Vehicle". Hand over the cars blue book stating your ownership, as well as your purple car passport. The girl will give input most of the details on the computer, and hand back to you a near completed "Application for temporary export" form (in duplicate), which is a customs form.

2) Literally turn around 180 degrees and walk to booth 6D which is market "To notify Export of Vehicle". Hand over your recently completed "Application for temporary export" form, as well as your blue book, passport and car passport for him to check the document. He will sign it off and take one half, stamping the other half with a stamp saying that you need to return this to him when you come back across the border.

3) Go to booth 5D and get 2 forms (in duplicate - so 4 pages) of a document called "Information of conveyance and passenger list form". Fill it in and then hand it back to him with your passport, car passport, blue book. He will stamp you and your car out of the country, and you wull get back one page of the "Information of Conveyance" form, to return when you get back into the country.

Now you are ready to cross over the bridge. Just before the bridge, there is a 20 baht toll for crossing the bridge.

Entering Laos

As others have mentioned, there is a traffic cross over. Once you have changed sides, you'll pull up to a disinfectant station, where your wheels are spayed. You pay 10 baht for the privelege!

4) If this is the first time you have bought your car to Laos, you'll need to fill in a form "Notification to Import" form, notifying that you are Importing the car. This is a one time only deal as they'll enter the details onto the computer and they'll have your card details recorded for future crossings. You get this from the customs guys sitting at an open desk in front of the private passenger cars booth.

The only problem is, that the the form is in Lao!!! Unline on the Thai side, where you have Thai/English forms, this is in the local lingo only. "Fortunately" they have a template which outlines the translation in Thai. You read the Thai language form, and fill in the lao language one. If you can't read Thai, shanghai someone to do it for you! The forms asks for your DL number, car chasis number, engine details etc.

Fill it in, and take it back to same desk, where they will stamp it.

4a) Then you go into the main building, to see the head of customs, who will take a cursory look at all your relevant documentation (DL, PP, Car PP, Blue book) and sign off on the Lao language Notification to Import form.

At this stage, if you are a non-Thai, you should get you visa on arrival form. If you are Thai, or have a visa already, simply head back to the booth behind the desk outside which you were at before, and hand the "Notifcation to Import" form in with your PP, Car Passport etc, etc, and you'll have your car and PP stamped into the country.

5) After that, go to the ajoining booth, where you pay a 200 baht entry for your car, 10B per passenger. They also take the Lao language "Notification to Import" form off you, and enter it into their DB. You'll never need to fill in this form again!

6) After paying, the lady will staple receipts into your purple car PP, and give you two green forms. Take the green forms, car PP back to the first desk you went to a 4) and they'll take one of the green slips off you, the other of which you'll have to return when you depart the country.

You'll be asked at this point to declare anything. If not, then you are almost done

7) Walk over to the insurance building which is on the right hand side after the immigration booths (Assurances Geneerales du Laos) or AGL. Buy insurance here (the guy will do all the forms for you. Insurance for a couple of days, like others have said, is minimal!

Exiting Laos

8) Go to the private car booth, hand over your PP, Car Passport and green form, and you'll be stamped out.

9) Walk over to a customs desk, Hand over green form which they'll take.

10) Pay toll, cross back over.

Reentering Thailand

11) Go to booth 5A. They do your immigration stuff and stamp in your car.

12) Go to booth 6D and return you "Application for temporary export" form, which you got when you first left the country.

You are done!!

The first time over tool me about 90 mins end to end. Partly cause of queues, partly cause I didn't know what I was going. But if you've done it once, it can be done much faster on subsquent trips.

[randomchase]

hi khun samran am having the most difficult time tryiny to follow up on your post travling to lao . i have posted and posted about the car passport you speak of and where to get one , etc i have tried and , tried to move forward. Some ome moved one post to the motor forum its laid dead . can you email.me or even phone please ,as i need to be on my way . Ive put out wants for assistants and travel agents where to get etc Zilch thaks random email deleted [/email] Phone deleted thanks very good post

[smartecosse]

go to your local transport office

they will organise it for you there

[Issangeorge]

Has anyone taken a motorcycle across Friendship II Bridge at Mukdahan, what are the procedures? Thanks, Issangeorge

[samran]

hi khun samran am having the most difficult time tryiny to follow up on your post travling to lao . i have posted and posted about the car passport you speak of and where to get one , etc i have tried and , tried to move forward. Some ome moved one post to the motor forum its laid dead . can you email.me or even phone please ,as i need to be on my way . Ive put out wants for assistants and travel agents where to get etc Zilch thaks random email deleted [/email] Phone deleted thanks very good post

If you are in Bangkok, the you go to the department of land transport, which is located near Jatukak market.

Second floor of the first major building on the left (from memory) once you enter the DLT compound. Go to desk 23 (from memory) and ask for 'passport rot'

You'll need your blue ownership manual, your passport, and probably a letter of residence from your embassy.

[wilko]

Interesting thread...I will have to read it thoroughly when I have more time.

I heard the rumours or crime and must say that although they sounded like crap/urban myth, I was a little put off.

[brizzle]

I see that Laos are signed up to the 1949 International Drivers permit (IDP) treaty. However can anybody confirm that in practice this works and I should be ok taking my Thai registered car into Lao with an IDP or will I still need a Thai DL?

Many thanks.

[MaiChai]

Can I resurrect this (extremely useful) thread to confirm all information is still current? Any changes to the process?

Other question: I have a regular Thai driving license; do I need the 'international' version of this (one that can be used in Malaysia/SG) or can I just use the regular Thai driving license in Laos?

Many thanks for the useful thread and also thanks in advance for any updates!

[MaiChai]

bump

[MaiChai]

Seems Thai license can be used in Laos, Malaysia, Singapore. There were two license types; the Thai original and the one designed to be outside Thailand friendly. The latter is the one to use, however from Googling it seems Laos police are probably less proficient in reading English than Thai! So the Thai one should be fine.

I have the original type and dont see why I should pay the British Embassy 2000 baht for a letter that says 'Mr X has indicated he lives here' so I can change to the new type (I have about 4 years left on the car license and 2 on the bike license)! Immigration at Chaeng Wattana has indicated they can do me an address letter, but only when the boss is there to approve it (he wasnt there when I visited).

So I guess I will wing it in Laos on my existing license; the fine for driving without a license is about 100 baht anyway!

By the way I now have my purple book allowing taking the pickup to Laos; took them a couple of hours to do at Jatujak, plus some T stickers, a piece of paper saying the pickup is roadworthy, and finally we should have received a number plate in English with Thai characters translated to Roman script, but they were having computer problems. So will have to return for that!

Edited February 17, 2011 by MaiChai