Do Thai's Need A Visa To Go To Laos?

[daveh]

My wife would like to take her parents to visit her sister in Laos. She would like to know if they need to get a visa to go to Laos. If not, are they required to even have a passport?

Thanks,

Dave.

[who]

My wife would like to take her parents to visit her sister in Laos. She would like to know if they need to get a visa to go to Laos. If not, are they required to even have a passport?

Thanks,

Dave.

Edited July 27, 2008 by who

[who]

No visa or passport is required of Thais, just an ID card. Bring lots of Thai 20 baht notes.

Go to Luang Prabang. Have fun, Bill

[Thanyaburi Mac]

My wife would like to take her parents to visit her sister in Laos. She would like to know if they need to get a visa to go to Laos. If not, are they required to even have a passport?

Thanks,

Dave.

Dave

No visa required as Thai can get a "Border Pass" from one of the shops there at the van/bus station near the bridge.  Runs baht 150 +- and two photos.  Good for three days & two nights, I think, Vientiane area only.

Alternatively, if the Thai has a passport, the Lao visa is FREE and can stay for 30 days and go anywhere in country.

Mac

[AlbinoAsian]

My wife would like to take her parents to visit her sister in Laos. She would like to know if they need to get a visa to go to Laos. If not, are they required to even have a passport?

Thanks,

Dave.

Dave

No visa required as Thai can get a "Border Pass" from one of the shops there at the van/bus station near the bridge.  Runs baht 150 +- and two photos.  Good for three days & two nights, I think, Vientiane area only.

Alternatively, if the Thai has a passport, the Lao visa is FREE and can stay for 30 days and go anywhere in country.

Mac

sorry to dig this thread up from the dead, but i have a simple quesion regarding getting the free Lao visa in the Thai passport, do they normally (for example in Nong Khai) go to the same immigration window as us farangs to get a visa stamped in their passport?

[Thanyaburi Mac]

My wife would like to take her parents to visit her sister in Laos. She would like to know if they need to get a visa to go to Laos. If not, are they required to even have a passport?

Thanks,

Dave.

Dave

No visa required as Thai can get a "Border Pass" from one of the shops there at the van/bus station near the bridge.  Runs baht 150 +- and two photos.  Good for three days & two nights, I think, Vientiane area only.

Alternatively, if the Thai has a passport, the Lao visa is FREE and can stay for 30 days and go anywhere in country.

Mac

sorry to dig this thread up from the dead, but i have a simple quesion regarding getting the free Lao visa in the Thai passport, do they normally (for example in Nong Khai) go to the same immigration window as us farangs to get a visa stamped in their passport?

At the Lao end of the bridge my wife just proceeds to the two (three?) booths beyond where I'm waiting for my VOA, she gets stamped in and starts looking for a decent priced taxi. If no group of foreigners, I'm through with the VOA and stamp in 5-10 minutes.

Mac

[NADTATIDA1]

Make sure the Thai passport has more than 6 months on it,or you will have to get an A4 paper visa(about 100-150bt) from a shop down the road from the Thai side of the bridge!

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Make sure the Thai passport has more than 6 months on it,or you will have to get an A4 paper visa(about 100-150bt) from a shop down the road from the Thai side of the bridge!

That'd be a Thai-Lao "Border Pass" not a visa, and good for just three days and supposedly only for Vientiane area. Often a guest house can get this extended for a day or three.

Mac

[AlbinoAsian]

Make sure the Thai passport has more than 6 months on it,or you will have to get an A4 paper visa(about 100-150bt) from a shop down the road from the Thai side of the bridge!

That'd be a Thai-Lao "Border Pass" not a visa, and good for just three days and supposedly only for Vientiane area. Often a guest house can get this extended for a day or three.

Mac

Thanks for your replies Mac, we'll be there for 3 nights, would you still recommend the passport option as its free?

[harrry]

Surprisingly my partnerhad to fill in a normal entry card in english to re-enter Thailand. I would have thought it would be acceptible for a THai to write in their own language.

[sumrit]

Thanks for your replies Mac, we'll be there for 3 nights, would you still recommend the passport option as its free?

When we took some of my wife's family to Vientiane two years ago I'm sure the maximum time they could stay there on a border pass was three days and two nights.

[AlbinoAsian]

Thanks for your replies Mac, we'll be there for 3 nights, would you still recommend the passport option as its free?

When we took some of my wife's family to Vientiane two years ago I'm sure the maximum time they could stay there on a border pass was three days and two nights.

yep thus the reason I'd gather it would be best not to use the ID Card but instead get the free 30 day visa in my wife's passport.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Thanks for your replies Mac, we'll be there for 3 nights, would you still recommend the passport option as its free?

When we took some of my wife's family to Vientiane two years ago I'm sure the maximum time they could stay there on a border pass was three days and two nights.

yep thus the reason I'd gather it would be best not to use the ID Card but instead get the free 30 day visa in my wife's passport.

Use of a Thai passport is preferred primarily because it saves time on the Thai side, don't have to wait for a Border Pass to be made and approved. 30-45 minutes.

Plus it provides more flexibility in Laos just in case you decide to van up to Vang Vieng, for example.

Mac