Day-By-Day, Play-By-Play Of Getting A Visa In Vientiane

[MaxwellsDemon]

I've been to Savannakhet three times already for tourist visas and have the system down pat, though due to the kind of traveller I am I often forget a photo here or a bus ticket there, and end up frantically rushing about last minute and paying for it. This is my first time to Vientiane, and so far it is going well.

I'm a young Canadian applying for a non-immigration category B visa after being offered a job in Bangkok. I expect difficulties may arise (we shall see later) and my thorough searching of countless websites and forums have shown me little help for my situation, so I hope someone in a similar situation (or just in general) might be helped with this post.

PART ONE:

Preparations:

I got a big thick package of papers with a letter to the embassy on top from my to-be-employer, and instructions on how to get my new non-B visa. Flicking through the inch-thick stack I noticed all the things often talked about, aka company tax records and history, map to office, etc. My tourist visa would expire July 30, so they managed to get everything together just in time. However, the notorious WP3 was missing, but the company ensured me it wasn't necessary and everything I needed was in there. As they're part of a massive multinational company, I figured they knew what they were doing, and that the TV/Teak-door/etc reports were not representative of what usually happens.

I was still afraid, so to help maybe calm my mind, I printed out the application form from the Thai consular section in Vientiane's website, got nice new photos done, checked for holidays, and planned out every major step of my journey.

And just to make things as smooth as possible, I made sure I prepared the non-visa aspects of the trip as well as I could (very unlike me).

After scouring the Internet, I booked a bus ticket to Nong Khai, the Thai border town, with the Transport Co at about 11 am Saturday for that evening. I didn't want to risk showing up at Mo Chit too late and be forced to buy an expensive ticket for an unwelcome time, and to my surprise when I booked it online only one seat was taken. So I picked the front row window seat. Sweet.

When I had first tried to book over the phone, they didn't have the same options as online, namely a 364 baht fare to Nong Khai at 20h35. I signed up painlessly for a free account to book online, got my confirmation code and headed off to the local 7-eleven to pay for it. It's an ingenious and very effective system - you can pay for bus tickets from any company, phone bills, even Thai Airways tickets I believe. There I paid the full 424 baht price (taxes/etc) for my one way ticket to Nong Khai.

I was stunned by the relatively high prices of hostels and guesthouses in Laos' capital, but picked out a few and marked them on a map, and saved a jpeg onto my phone. I also sent out some last minute couchsurfing requests but to no avail.

Getting There

Being the poor bastard I am, I caught a couple of public buses to get to Mo Chit that evening, and gave my 7-eleven receipt to the lady at the Transport Co counter, and she promptly handed me a ticket. At 20h00 I headed to the platform, and to my surprise the bus was there 35 mins early. My previous experiences with Nakhon Chai Air always resulted in buses about 15-30 minutes late, leaving you to sweat out your guts in the disgustingly hot bus bay in Mo Chit. Got on the bus, decent legroom, but unfortunately my neighbour was a fat, sticky old woman. No armrests to demilitarize the area between us, either. Luckily, once the bus started moving she asked to move to one of the empty seats, and I was given free reign over both seats for the entire journey. Air con, as usual, was too cold, but the blanket helped and after watching Exit Through the Gift Shop on my iPhone I fell asleep, practically undisturbed until reaching the terminal stop, Nong Khai at 7h00, 10 hours later. For ~400 baht it was a very comfortable ride with no frills but no complaints.

At Nong Khai I dodged the hoard of tuktuk drivers because I needed a drink and a piss. Got some iced tea, then bought myself some time by having a smoke and stretching my legs. Then I noticed the regulated prices posted on a sign, and that no haggling would be involved. Picked the guy who gave me a light, and had him take me to the Friendship Bridge, about a 5 minute drive and 80 baht away.

At the bridge, I got stamped out after waiting in line for all of 15 seconds, walked through to the bus table and bought the 20 baht ticket to cross. This bus was a lot more spacious though just as old as the ones that cross the Friendship Bridge 2 at Mukdahan/Savannakhet. At the other end, I took out the 1,500 baht and a picture for the Laos visa app. Guy at the window lent me his pen, I filled out the form and then was asked for 1,800 baht (Canadian passport) - the last few times I was charged 42 USD or 1500 baht, but he said no, 1,800. Alright then. He stamped me in as well to avoid the (nonexistent) immigration line, where I passed a sign that had "entry fees" written on it. Didn't get a chance to read it but I guess that's what the extra 300 was.

At the other end I was prepared to march defiantly past the tuktuks and straight to find the #14 bus I had read so much about. But as soon as I got out a guy ushered me into his crammed songtaew and when I said "Bpai Vientiane chai bor?", got a nod and thought, whatever. Paid him 5,000 kip upon exit at the main bus station in Vientiane 25 minutes later and was now in my destination, at 8 in the morning.

If you're lucky, you could find a plane ticket for under 2000 baht, but I reckon that actually takes longer: 1 hr to airport, 1.5hrs before takeoff for checkin/waiting, 1.5hr flight, 1 more hour to get into the city... For 5 hours of daytime. I'm usually barely awake at 8 am, so the bus routine really only cost me about 2-3 hours from Saturday evening.

Arrival

First of all, I immediately noticed the lack of harassing tuktuk drivers at the bus station. Secondly, I was hungry. Right by the station is a market selling those famed Laotian sammies, so bought a footlong for 5,000 kip.

Oh yeah, as an Asian I can usually pretend to be Thai with the little Thai I can speak, but sometimes it's clear I'm not a local. Arriving in Vientiane I was wearing beachy flip-flops (-1 point), plaid shorts (-1), and a bright tshirt (-1) but didn't have a massive backpack (+1), any hippie clothes or dreadlocks (+1), a giant bottle of water (+1). I did have my flashy iPhone out (-1) but also an umbrella (+1) so it was a 50-50 chance I would be pounced on as a tourist.

Next I headed to the first of three hostels I marked on my map, all within walking distance of the station. The closest one, Saylom Yen guesthouse was neat enough and trustworthy enough for me, so I booked in for the night, in a single fan room for 70,000 kip.

No photos unfortunately, I'm typing this monstrosity on my phone and can't be arsed to multimedia-ize it. But decent size, aged but clean, seated toilet/wet bathroom, and powerful ceiling fan. And wifi, reachable in the rooms. Big plus. Friendly staff so far, and the bed is nice and soft.

The NOOOODDLLEESSSSS

Since it was still only 8h30 in the morning, the owner told me to come back in an hour to let them clean up a room. Sure, I thought, left my bag at the desk and went for a walk. Well, it's a Sunday morning in a sleepy town and lightly raining... so the place is really quiet. Went back to the markets by the bus station, and saw a noodle stand. I initially wanted to avoid typical Thai fare in favour of lots of nice bread-based items, but couldn't resist plopping down at a roadside noodle stall. Wasn't sure if there were any Thai-Lao differences when it comes to noodles, so I just asked for sen lek sai neua, and was greeted by several lovely things. 1)Iced water in a pitcher. Not metal cups of crushed ice with water on top, or dipping plastic cups in cubed water, but glasses that get filled with only ice-cold, solid-less water. Beauty. 2) Garnishes galore. Yeah, the usual four flavours, but also the less common bean sprouts and basil leaves, but even the rarer limes and basil, and all sorts of leafy herbs and spices! And also an amazing peanut dip for your long beans! Note: there are no serving spoons provided, so you use your own wet spoon to dig out the chili/sugar... 3) Big portions with loads of meat. And not just meatballs, no siree, but chunks of beef, strips of beef, lots of tripe, jellied meats, and lots of blood. Aw yeah. These bowls were even larger than your pisayt-size noodles you get back in Bangkok, and at 15,000 kip, well worth it.

Yes, I consider these noodles to be an integral part of the visa run process.

Touring

Next up I planned on scoping out the closed Thai consular section - where they do visa apps, which is separate from the actual embassy. Didn't make it, though, as I discovered a mini mall, similar to Pirom Plaza or the 3rd floor of MBk full of the same knick knacks, and got out of the rain.

I realized I still needed kip, since I was running low on my leftover currency from last trip. Found an exchange booth, and in a silent transaction, gave her a 1000 baht note for 250,000 kip. I always base my mental calculations on 1,000 kip being 4 baht, and so this was a fair deal. Taking a closer look at the rate of 255, I realized she made about 5,000 kip off me. That's how it goes, I guess. Make it 250 and the clerk keeps whatever bonus the real rate demands.

Now I'm back in my guesthouse and refreshed after a nap. It's still raining but I intend to see what this place has to offer, since I'll be here for a few days to do essentially 2-3 hours of actual "business."

[cnx355]

Thanks for all the infos. I even learned from you that you can book the Transport Company bus tickets online. I guess the web site is only in Thai. I will look into it.

But I want to tell you that I took Nakornchai Air often in the last 2 years and I experienced the departure from Bangkok both way: from their own bus station and from Morchit.

I prefer to go to Nakornchai Air private bus station as the terminal is smaller and well organised. "Bus leave on time."

THEN, the bus go to Morchit to take the rest of the passengers. That is possibly why you have to way at Morchit as the traffic to get there is quite heavy.

Every time I go there I have to explain it to the taxi driver that I want to go to Nakorchai Air Terminal and not Morchit. Not always easy ! The address is on their web site.

[MaxwellsDemon]

(can't seem to edit without the Thaivisa App crashing...)

Day 2

Woke up nice and early and after another nice sandwich from the market made the trek to the Consular Section. Unlike for Savannakhet, the Consular Section, separate from the Royal Thai Embassy, is accurately marked on Google Maps. However, with the rain and the muddy ground it was not a pleasant walk. Best to stick to the main roads where there are cars - it might take a little longer, but your shoes won't be caked in orange soil.

From the main bus station (Talat Sao or Khua Din) it takes around 15-20 minutes to get there. And once you're near, you can't miss it, again unlike the consulate in Savan that I walked by twice before noticing it. Large white royal-looking building, with a familiar outdoor waiting area and counters.

You have to go up to the front and press a button to get a numbered ticket, no one hands them out or presses it for you like they do at banks and True service centers in Bangkok.

They accept applications between 8h30 and 12h00, and I got there just before 9, and was rewarded with number 51. If you arrive at 11h50, don't fret. As long as you get your number before noon, they will process your application. You might even have a slight advantage, as in the last 5 minutes they called up all the numbers to rush everyone through, and if you have any issues (overstay/red stamps) they might overlook it. At 12 they were up to number 245, to give you an idea of the crowd.

Since I had all my documents ready, all I had to do was wait. If you need to get copying, there are a couple of shops right outside the gate that'll give you the forms, take your photos, etc, for a fee. I should've asked how much it would cost for the sake of this thread but it didn't occur to me at the time. It would be slightly more expensive I assume than your regular copy shop and photo place but not ridiculously overpriced. The consulate is not in a busy part of Vientiane, so it might be a little walk to find a place that doesn't cater directly to visa applicants. In the consular section you can go upstairs to use the photocopier but have heard the charge is outrageous. There are tables and pens and glue for you for free though. How generous.

Moment of Truth

I saw 51 come up, and I marched up with my giant stack of papers, handed my application in and the lady started thumbing through the papers. And then she points out documents I am missing, to my dismay. I won't get into details, but she shows me the checklist that they use when checking applications, which I posted on a separate thread here. While she was very helpful and kind, she said rules are rules and told me she can't accept the application. I said that what documents I did have showed that the company is a large, well-run organization, not some sketchy startup, but she said that it doesn't matter, you need these things. I asked her to check the package again, and she went through page by page, quite carefully, but again reported missing necessities, and told me to call my employer and see if I could get them today. She even photocopied her checklist for me, but that's all she could do.

So I left and sought out an Internet cafe around the corner, who also offered international calls for 4000 kip a minute. Cheaper than using my Thai card roaming, as the consular section is far enough from the river to not get reception. I was able to get DTAC coverage about 3-400 yards away from the river before it would get unusable. Just make sure to manually pick your carrier in your phone settings to avoid being switched to a Lao provider.

After talking to my employer, it became apparent that getting the non-B this trip would be too difficult/impossible with the impending long weekend holiday, and advised I just get a tourist visa that will get converted in Bangkok. If you find yourself in a similar situation I highly recommend asking your employer if that could be an option before you leave for Laos, in case trouble arises, because it is not a fun nor easy process for anyone.

I got a new number, now 194 and after pleading with the lady again, pointing out that the lack of some of the documents were accounted for in the letter, but she replied, "Maybe I say yes, and then I give it to someone else, and he say no."

Which is a good point. Better they check and decline when you apply instead of finding out the next day that it wasn't accepted, in which case you'd have to fix the problem, apply the next day, pickup the next next day, making a two day affair four days long.

She suggested to do the tourist visa for now, and when she saw I already had three back-to-back tourist visas in my passport, she made a little note in Lao on one of my photocopies, with certain words like "non-b" and "document x" in English. I assume she was saying to the next person in the chain not to reject me because I'm not a suspicious long-term tourist but was simply unable to complete the non-B process and will be doing the conversion in Thailand. Very considerate of her.

Almost done - payment is done separately for some strange reason. You take your number to the next building, this time with air conditioning, and await your number to be called. They roughly go in order, by which I mean 174, 175, 177, 184, 176, 178, 23, 179.... But once you're up you throw the guy a 1000 baht (or 2 or 5) and he gives you a receipt. Done is done.

Now for more beer lao.