Vientiane Laos for Thai Visa

[eek]

Has anyone taken a bus directly from Chiang Mai to Vientiene lately? I looked around yesterday and couldn't find this service available.Thanks

This service isnt available (not to my knowledge anyway). Time before last I took a bus to Udon Thani, then took a tuk tuk to the bus station, and from there the bus took me to the border at Nong Khai. After getting my exit stamp, took the bus that goes over Friendship Bridge, then got my Laos Visa. Entered Laos and took a tuk tuk to town.

Im pretty sure there is no other way to do this. If you find out another way (or anyone else knows of one) then please post.

My last trip I took a Nok Air flight to Udon. I found the bus journey not much fun at all.

[lopburi3]

Believe most take bus to Udon or Nong Khai.

[rickpat]

Make sure you re-enter no later than 11.09.08, otherwise your visa will have expired, and you will not be able to make the second entry. Happened to me earlier this year.

This is bad advice. The exact wording on the visa is "ENTER BEFORE 11.09.08". If you went on the 11.09 it will already have expired.

Oops. Sorry, my bad.

Thanks for the correction.

[tropo]

I usually find tha a polite reminder of these common courtesies is enough to send most people shame facedy to the back of the queue.

It doesn't work so well if you're near the back of a long queue and you see them pushing in near the front.

tropo, i know this has been said and argued against before, i am still of the same belife, give an agent 200/300/400 bhat no queuing handing it in, and on return, and as a bounus they check all ya paperwork any way before you leave, worth every penny, then let someone else deal with pushing in etc, or worse, gate gettin closed right in front of you, after youve queued for an hour or more!

chris

I know you used an agent last year in December, but in January all the vendors had been moved away. There was no one outside the gates selling anything except for a guy offering to fill in applications.

[funfun]

I usually find tha a polite reminder of these common courtesies is enough to send most people shame facedy to the back of the queue.

It doesn't work so well if you're near the back of a long queue and you see them pushing in near the front.

tropo, i know this has been said and argued against before, i am still of the same belife, give an agent 200/300/400 bhat no queuing handing it in, and on return, and as a bounus they check all ya paperwork any way before you leave, worth every penny, then let someone else deal with pushing in etc, or worse, gate gettin closed right in front of you, after youve queued for an hour or more!

chris

I know you used an agent last year in December, but in January all the vendors had been moved away. There was no one outside the gates selling anything except for a guy offering to fill in applications.

well that might have been the guy, dont know, the guy i used was selling pop and grub etc, maybe that was a front, ive still got his no anyway, in fact i think i put it on ma webste, well im extremly lazy and if i can get out of queing etc i will if poss, see where i go end of this month, if its pp (im trying to get out of) or laos!

chris

[mel2surf]

I usually find tha a polite reminder of these common courtesies is enough to send most people shame facedy to the back of the queue.

It doesn't work so well if you're near the back of a long queue and you see them pushing in near the front.

tropo, i know this has been said and argued against before, i am still of the same belife, give an agent 200/300/400 bhat no queuing handing it in, and on return, and as a bounus they check all ya paperwork any way before you leave, worth every penny, then let someone else deal with pushing in etc, or worse, gate gettin closed right in front of you, after youve queued for an hour or more!

chris

I know you used an agent last year in December, but in January all the vendors had been moved away. There was no one outside the gates selling anything except for a guy offering to fill in applications.

well that might have been the guy, dont know, the guy i used was selling pop and grub etc, maybe that was a front, ive still got his no anyway, in fact i think i put it on ma webste, well im extremly lazy and if i can get out of queing etc i will if poss, see where i go end of this month, if its pp (im trying to get out of) or laos!

chris

Wazzup Chris and Tropo,

I hope all is well with you guys,and

thanks for keeping this thread relevant and updated!

As far as a "agent" up in Vientianne,as of May they were still

up for it.My taxi driver was most generous with the info and for

me personally was worth the dough. But in my case,it was laziness,

and i wanted to concentrate on enjoying a relaxing few days with my

brother who happened to be visiting,and our gal pals.

But to anyone not interested in that method,take heart.

I saw VERY few people at the Laos visa window AND the embassy as well!

Maybe it was good luck...me thinks it's more like a drop in overall

tourists/visa runners though. BTW,Laos was lovely as ever,and always a nice getaway.

Also,the town has grown ALOT in the last 6 months!! ..I'm no

expert,but seems like a decent place to invest in a small biz or?

Saw many more businesses,nicer cars on the roads..even an American law firm.

However,the ATM dealy still a bit of an annoyance (couldn't get baht,which I prefer over kip)

All in all though...Laos is nice!!...i want to check out Vietnam soon.

Anyone up for doing a little research/leisure/photo op trip for 4 or 5 days?

Best of luck everyone!

Mel

[nanyang]

Apologies if it's been mentioned earlier but I noticed that the morning closing time, at the Thai embassy, is now 12:00 in Vientiane.

[funfun]

Apologies if it's been mentioned earlier but I noticed that the morning closing time, at the Thai embassy, is now 12:00 in Vientiane.

cheers nanyang, it is worth mentioning as a reminder that people have said that if theyre really busy they have closed the gates at 10.30, now that might have been the tuesday after a bank holiday monday but either way it could cost you another nights stay/hotel and maybe a new flight????

chris

[funfun]

just an up date of the new train sevice that goes over the border into laos that is due to open soon,

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Test-Run-Tha...ss-t198244.html

chris

[funfun]

just a quick one, I've got a guy up in Laos at mo in vientine and I'm getting toldthat they are asking how many entries they want, the lady in front of my mate then said 4 enties then was charged 4000, my mate only had 3000 so asked for a 3 entry, now I have not heard of this so maybe its bull, but noreason for my mate to lie as I will be looking at his passport on his return, or maybe its a new member of staff or justbullshit.

So tropi litebeer lopuri monty maestro any ideas?

chris

[lopburi3]

Check the validity of the visa - I suspect it may turn out to be the normal three months that they provide. So it is good for a bunch of travel but less useful for long term stay.

[funfun]

Check the validity of the visa - I suspect it may turn out to be the normal three months that they provide. So it is good for a bunch of travel but less useful for long term stay.

Yep know what ya mean, he's back tommorow and if its 100 per cent that you can get 4 entrys well that's the same as a one year job, see what tom brings!

Chris

[Lite Beer]

Check the validity of the visa - I suspect it may turn out to be the normal three months that they provide. So it is good for a bunch of travel but less useful for long term stay.

Yep know what ya mean, he's back tommorow and if its 100 per cent that you can get 4 entrys well that's the same as a one year job, see what tom brings!

Chris

Hope you have a scanner Chris.

[funfun]

I not need a scaner, I'll be too pissed to use one, I'll send one of girls to bertie bassets!

[kupsu]

They will give as many entry you want. But the visa is valid only for three months

[bjhabal]

I never used an extension service for my visas, however for those who do, a three entries valid for only three month, still much better than filling their passports with extensions, though will cost a little bit more.

Bishop

[funfun]

just a quck update of

"Here's the break down of my Visa Run to Vientiane for my thai education visa." Tod-Daniels

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Ed-Visa-Vien...rt-t159442.html

even if ya not getting ed visa its a good read if ya off up to vientiene.

chris

ps on the visa of ross whos up there at mo i have advised him to what everyone says about the 3 entrys in 3 months job, so it may be he has wasted money so hel_l find out today at 2pm ish, hes not chuffed if that is the case and ill presume the lady in front of him who went for a 4 entry will be the same!

[bangkokgas]

Await with bated breath! 4 entries! Unheard of - even in the good old days. Gotta be a "catch!".

[Laawman]

I think this has been mentioned earlier, but................ I just completed a border run using Cambodia Inter (Soi Buakhow) and noticed that they also do a 2x tourist visa package to VTE for B9500, including services of an agent for the embassy bit. As usual I forgot to inquire if this was overland or not, but if you're looking for an easy route this would seem ideal.

[irisgodd3ss]

Quick question. My boyfriend is British, how much will his visa to Laos cost? Thanks!

[bangkokgas]

Depends where he gets it. At the "Bridge" in Nong Khai, 1500 baht or 35 dollars (plus 1 for "overtime fee" if applying after 6.00pm). In Bangkok - 20 dollars at the Laoatian embassy.

[funfun]

Check the validity of the visa - I suspect it may turn out to be the normal three months that they provide. So it is good for a bunch of travel but less useful for long term stay.

Yep know what ya mean, he's back tommorow and if its 100 per cent that you can get 4 entrys well that's the same as a one year job, see what tom brings!

Chris

yes you were all spot on it was for 3 months so he's well pissed off, and apparentley they ask you how many entries to encourgage you to get more, he didnt see the lady who aplied for 4 entries but would assume she got 3 months also, so he's 1000 bhat down and i must admit i probobly would have fallen for it also!

again cheers

chris

[007]

In Bangkok - 20 dollars at the Laoatian embassy.

Are you sure? I paid last time 1,200 baht (plus 200 baht express fee), that's way more than 20 USD!

[lopburi3]

Visa cost to Laos varies by nationality.

Country

Visa fee ( in Baht )

Albania800

Armenia800

Azerbaijan800

Austria1.400

Africa1.200

Afghanistan1.600

Australia1.200

Bulgaria800

Belarus800

Belgium1.400

Bhutan1.200

Brunei600

Cuba800

Czech Republic800

Canada1.680

Central America1.200

Cambodia800

China600

Denmark1.400

D.P.R. of Korea800

Estonia800

France1.200

Germany1.200

Georgia800

Greece1.400

Hungary800

Hong Kong1.000

Ireland1.400

India1.600

Italy1.400

Indonesia400

Israel1.200

Japan1.000

Kyrgystan800

Kazakhstan800

Latvia800

Lithuania800

Luxembourg1.400

Mongolia800

Middle East1.200

Malaysia300

Myanmar720

Macao1.000

Norway1.400

Netherlands1.400

Nepal1.600

New Zealand1.200

Poland800

Portugal1.400

Pakistan1.600

Philippines1.200

Russia800

Romania800

R. Korea1.200

Slovakia800

Sweden1.240

Spain1.400

Switzerland1.400

South America1.200

Sri Lanka1.600

Singapore400

Taiwan1.000

Turkmenistan800

Tajikistan800

Turkey1.400

Thailand600

Ukraine800

United Kingdom1.400

U.S.A1.400

Vietnam1.000

Yugoslavia800

N.B. :

1. The visa can be collected on the next day of the applied date.

2. The extra charge for the express visa service is 200 Baht, and the visa can be collected within 1 hour.

[bangkokgas]

Japanese do not have to get a visa for Laos if staying 15 days or less Lop! Don't tell me you are fallible!

[bangkokgas]

In Bangkok - 20 dollars at the Laoatian embassy.

Are you sure? I paid last time 1,200 baht (plus 200 baht express fee), that's way more than 20 USD!

bECAUSE YOU PAID IN BAHT PERHAPS?

[lopburi3]

Japanese do not have to get a visa for Laos if staying 15 days or less Lop! Don't tell me you are fallible!

Of course I am fallible. But in this case I was relaying the official visa cost sheet of the Lao Embassy in Bangkok and don't recall mentioning Japanese visitors. I suspect most Thai visitors do not pay 600 baht for a visa either.

[bjhabal]

I think some Embassies particularly in the third world countries do not update their website frequently, however for the Thai, I have seen people applying and paying for a visa to Laos, meanwhile Singaporean do not need a visa, though they list it among the countries that they need. The funny part is that some Embassies will keep issuing visa to people who do not need it if they apply for it not knowing the regulations; for example, when Cambodia canceled the visa requirement for Singaporean, the Embassy in Bangkok kept issuing the visa for my wife without telling her that she does not need it anymore; we only knew that after several trips to Cambodia, when one nice immigration officer asked my wife why she is getting visas when it is not required for her. The bottom line is that no one should rely one hundred percent on an Embassy based information and try to get it from other sources such as the ministry of foreign affairs if possible.

Cheers,

Bishop

[bangkokgas]

O.K. Lop _ call me stupid, but I seem to be missing something here. The original question was "how much to pay for Laoatian visas?". You have, in your usual splendid fashion given a list of how much said visas are. I was merely pointing out that not all visiors to laos need a visa if staying less than 15 days. I believe this is not resticted to japanese but all asean passport holders are afforded the same. Tis all.

[irisgodd3ss]

Me and the boyfriend are trying to synchronize our visas, and since I'm a couple of weeks ahead, I had to go to Cambodia yesterday, then on to Vientiane in a couple of weeks. I used the visa service that meets in the Tesco in On Nut.

Anyhow, when Claudio, the German operator inspected my passport (I'm Filipino, by the way), he was surprised to see that I had a double entry visa from Laos, which I got last January. He then told me that he also does runs to Vientiane, and none of his Filipino clientele were ever given double entry tourist visas. He thinks that I 'just got lucky' - quite disconcerting since I'm headed there in a couple of weeks.

I'm guessing his clients got denied the double entry cz they went as a group, while I usually do my visa runs alone; though why this would matter is beyond me. So my question is, does anyone know if this is true? Have you seen or heard of any Filipinos who were denied a double entry tourist visa from Vientiane? Thanks!

Edited July 11, 2008 by irisgodd3ss