Laos Visa - For Thai

[WilliamIV]

I am travelling to Laos with a Thai Passport holder.

When I went to the Laos Embassy I got my Laos Visa - no problem

But the Thai was told they could get Visa on Arrival.

Well we both knew that - I could get VOA also (British Passport)

The Laos Embassy did not REFUSE - they just stated the Obvious.

Should we have pursued our Request for a Visa?

COULD it have been possible to get one?

What is the Procedure at the Border for a Thai to get a VOA?

How many days are Laos VOA valid for?

Is the Laos VOA similar to a Visa Exempt entry in Thailand?

Just present the Thai Passport at Laos Immigration - and it is stamped?

Or is a Laos VOA more like a Thai VOA where you have to complete an application Form

and get the VOA stamped in your Passport before then going to Immgration?

We plan to be in Laos 8 or 9 days.

Bill

[technocracy]

I am travelling to Laos with a Thai Passport holder.

When I went to the Laos Embassy I got my Laos Visa - no problem

But the Thai was told they could get Visa on Arrival.

Well we both knew that - I could get VOA also (British Passport)

The Laos Embassy did not REFUSE - they just stated the Obvious.

Should we have pursued our Request for a Visa?

COULD it have been possible to get one?

What is the Procedure at the Border for a Thai to get a VOA?

How many days are Laos VOA valid for?

Is the Laos VOA similar to a Visa Exempt entry in Thailand?

Just present the Thai Passport at Laos Immigration - and it is stamped?

Or is a Laos VOA more like a Thai VOA where you have to complete an application Form

and get the VOA stamped in your Passport before then going to Immgration?

We plan to be in Laos 8 or 9 days.

Bill

Absolutely no need for a Thai to get any visa in advance - due to the Asean agreement all Thais get a 30 day stamp on arrival - it's not even a visa.

No forms to complete other than the usual customs arrival and departure form.

In other word turn up at the border, fill in the Customs forms for each of the passports and get stamped in and stamped out on the way back.

Easy.

[bubu]

i also want to travel with a thai citizen to laos ...

that means he doesn't need a visa ...

but what about me? i am german and i need visa ...

as we are travelling via land, i can not get visa on arrival.

that means i have to apply for visa at laos embassy in bangkok ...

did anybody do that before?

how long does it take and what is the price?

[technocracy]

i also want to travel with a thai citizen to laos ...

that means he doesn't need a visa ...

but what about me? i am german and i need visa ...

as we are travelling via land, i can not get visa on arrival.

that means i have to apply for visa at laos embassy in bangkok ...

did anybody do that before?

how long does it take and what is the price?

Ok lets get this clear:

1) A Thai does not need a visa to visit Laos - they need either a border pass (a temporary border pass can be obtain) or a passport they just get stamped in and out.

2) All citizens requiring visas (including Germans) can get a visa on arrival at the Laos land border - some of the smaller and remote borders do not issue voa however ALL borders to Thailand do. If I remember rightly the price for a VOA for a German national is $35.

3) You can by all means get a visa from the Bangkok Laos embassy the easiest way is to just visit a travel agent and they'll arrange it for you - however it'll no doubt be turn out more expensive pay the travel agent fees as well as the visa. But the one benefit of doing this is it will save you time at the border not having to wait for your visa (which can be anywhere from 2 - 15 minutes depending on how busy it is!).

Does that just about cover it?

[bubu]

thx for the information.

we were planning to make a trip to laos ...

air asia started its very cheap promotion today ...

but we changed our plan already and decided to visit vietnam.

i guess its more interesting than laos ...

[Farma]

This is my experience from last week in Luang Prabang. There were 2 immigration queues at the airport.

Foreigners requiring visa on arrival hand over the arrival/visa application card, appropriate amount of US$ + 1 passport photo at immigration then move to the next window with the receipt (from the first window) and collect the stamped passport a few minutes later.

Immigration were easy going. 3 people on my flight had left their photos in checked luggage and were allowed to walk through to retrieve the photos from the luggage then walk back in to submit the visa application with immigration. There is a list of fees on the immigration window. Bangkok Air provided the arrival/visa application card during the flight.

Thais and others not requiring a visa had a separate queue and were stamped through with no cash or photo required.

[girlx]

Does anyone know if Thais need a passport to go into Laos or is just an ID card ok for the VOA?

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Does anyone know if Thais need a passport to go into Laos or is just an ID card ok for the VOA?

For Thai with a passport, they get a 30-day stay on arrival, NO visa required.

For Thai with only their ID card, they can get a Border Pass for baht 50-150, forget which, and get two nights three days, which can be extended for a couple of days. At least this is the way my Thai wife used to do it at Nong Khai-Thannaleng. We paid the small travel office there by the van-bus station just before the bridge to handle this.

Mac

[Thanyaburi Mac]

i also want to travel with a thai citizen to laos ...

that means he doesn't need a visa ...

but what about me? i am german and i need visa ...

as we are travelling via land, i can not get visa on arrival.

that means i have to apply for visa at laos embassy in bangkok ...

did anybody do that before?

how long does it take and what is the price?

Ok lets get this clear:

1) A Thai does not need a visa to visit Laos - they need either a border pass (a temporary border pass can be obtain) or a passport they just get stamped in and out.

2) All citizens requiring visas (including Germans) can get a visa on arrival at the Laos land border - some of the smaller and remote borders do not issue voa however ALL borders to Thailand do. If I remember rightly the price for a VOA for a German national is $35.

3) You can by all means get a visa from the Bangkok Laos embassy the easiest way is to just visit a travel agent and they'll arrange it for you - however it'll no doubt be turn out more expensive pay the travel agent fees as well as the visa. But the one benefit of doing this is it will save you time at the border not having to wait for your visa (which can be anywhere from 2 - 15 minutes depending on how busy it is!).

Does that just about cover it?

Technocracy

Not quite, you said: 2) All citizens requiring visas (including Germans) can get a visa on arrival at the Laos land border - some of the smaller and remote borders do not issue voa however ALL borders to Thailand do. If I remember rightly the price for a VOA for a German national is $35."

The new, for foreigners, land crossing between Huey Khon, Nan, to Mueng Nguen, Sayaboury, requires a prior issued Lao visa. I got mine at the Lao embassy in Bangkok, 45 minutes since I paid the posted baht 200 extra for expedited service. My Thai wife didn't need a visa for her passport so she got the 30-day chop.

I don't know if they handle "border passes" there, didn't look like it as that's not really a Thai Immigration function, believe it belongs to the Governor's office, or the Amphur.

The Thai Immigration officer did say that he'd had to refuse departure for a number of foreigners who didn't already have a Lao visa in their passport.

Mac

[boogie]

I am considering a side trip to Laos while visiting Thailand and maybe take my wife's mother and father too, who don't have Thai passports. So a Thai entering Laos with only an ID can get a border pass for three days/two nights. In effect this is only one full day in Laos given that we would be travelling on days one and two. Does anyone know how easy it is to get the two day extension and what the procedure would be. Would we be able to book a hotel in advance for more than two nights and pay for the extension when the Border Pass is issued ? We would be crossing at Nong Khai and I would only be looking at staying for 3 to 4 nights anyway.

Does anyone also know if it would be possible to take a Thai driver with his vehicle into Laos for the same period ?

Thanks

Boogie