Application Form in Vientiane requires names of 2 guarantors. What do I put?

[silver sea]

Next month, I shall be travelling to Laos, so that I can get a single entry tourist visa (SETV) from Vientiane.

Previously, I have always got my triple entry visas from my home country, which is the UK. The third entry on my current visa will expire on 10th May. I wish to stay in Thailand for another two months, hence my trip to Laos.

I have found the visa application form that the Thai Embassy/Consulate in Vientiane requires to be completed. Click HERE to see the form.

The form requires the name and contact of two guarantors: one in Thailand and one in Lao PDR. Whose names do I put please?

It also asks for my address in Lao PDR. Presumably, I just put the name of the hotel or guest house that I will be staying in whilst my application for an SETV is being processed.

Thank you for your help.

Edited April 29, 2016 by silver sea

[elviajero]

• You can leave the guarantor section blank.

Yes. Put the hotel address.

[Bill3173]

Just did a run to Vientiane to get a SETV (10 days ago). Had a Thai friend fill in the the Thai guarantor section, left the Lao guarantor blank as elviajero mentioned, and used the hotel address in the Lao address section.

Not mentioned in the application form, not only will you need a copy of your passport information page, but also of your Lao entry stamp and your Lao visa. (photocopying available on site for 20 Baht)

Be forewarned, I got there 30 minutes before opening, and there was still a long queue (I got receipt # 188). Pickup the next day is done by order of receipt numbers, but they are quick to get through them.

Apart from waiting in the queue, all hassle free. Regards.

[GuyL]

...

Not mentioned in the application form, not only will you need a copy of your passport information page, but also of your Lao entry stamp and your Lao visa. (photocopying available on site for 20 Baht)

...

On site, the regular price is 5 baht per photocopy. Give the exact change (coins are accepted) because at least one guy who operates the photocopier there tends to "forget" to give you back your change if you give him a 20 baht bill to pay your two photocopies.

[Bill3173]

...

Not mentioned in the application form, not only will you need a copy of your passport information page, but also of your Lao entry stamp and your Lao visa. (photocopying available on site for 20 Baht)

...

On site, the regular price is 5 baht per photocopy. Give the exact change (coins are accepted) because at least one guy who operates the photocopier there tends to "forget" to give you back your change if you give him a 20 baht bill to pay your two photocopies.

I should have mentioned the 20 Baht was for three copies (Face page / Lao visa / Entry visa). I noticed he was charging everyone the same, so that is what I gave him. Thanks for mentioning it, will know for next time. Regards.

[paulbj2]

I have just returned from Vientiane about half an hour ago, having been there to obtain a SETV, i.e. a single entry tourist visa valid for two months.

Firstly, if you only want to stay a further 2 months, you could simply leave the country and upon your return (assuming that you fly back in) you should get a 30 day exemption (at no charge) which you can then extend for a further 30 days at your local immigration office (there is a charge for that).

If you prefer to go to Vientiane and get a 60 day SETV, here is what I know from this week's experience:

You don't need to complete either sponsor's details at all. This is my second SETV from Vientiane and I have never put anything in either of those boxes (I believe this info is relevant only for certain other types of visa, not tourist visas).

You will need two passport photos less than a month old; do not bother going to the Consulate without them as I didn't see any facilities for getting them there at the consulate.

If you want to save yourself no end of hassle and waiting about in the heat, you go into the building on the left of the area where everyone is queuing (where you can also get photocopies done) and turn left. You will see one or two ladies sitting at a table filling out forms for people. Wait your turn having written down all the info needed: proposed address in Thailand (IMPORTANT, you won't get a visa without it these days), address of your hotel in Laos and anything else you think they might need; don't forget to get the photocopies of your Lao visa and entry stamp together with a copy of the passport page with your picture on it BEFORE going to see the ladies at their table!. Give them your passport together with that info (they don't seem to speak very good English so make it as easy for them as you can) , your photos and 10,000 Kip and they will fill the form in for you staple the whole lot together and THIS THE REALLY IMPORTANT BIT they will put their little rubber stamp on it. That says that you are a "Fast Track" applicant. You then simply waltz up to the people who are accepting completed applications at the head of the frequently enormous queue, hand it to one or other of two officials and wait to be given a receipt with a number on it; GUARD IT WITH YOU LIFE!, that's what gets you your passport back the following afternoon. You do NOT have to go to the back of the queue to hand your application in; that's what fast track means. Not many people seem to know about this procedure. I'd say it's worth every penny of 10,000 Kip = about £1 not to have to queue for hours on end in the damned intolerable heat.

I didn't know about this the first time I went there and I ended up queuing for well over an hour.

I made photocopies (at home before I went) of every page in my passport that had visas or stamps relating to my visits to Thailand or Laos however the only one they actually seemed to want was the most recent Laos visa and entry stamp, they gave all the rest of them back to me!

You put you application in between 09h00 (or was it 08h00) and 11h00 on one day; the Thai consulate keep your passport overnight, so have a photocopy with you in case you get stopped by the Police. The following day, between 13h30 and 16h00 you collect your passport with a brand spanking new visa in it and pay the 1000 Baht fee (only Thai Baht are accepted).

If you go into Laos through Luang Prabang, you will go through Lao immigration there, if not, I guess you will go through immigration at Vientiane, Either way, you will need a passport photo for your visa (or for a fee of US$1, they will copy the one on your passport). You will need US$36 for your Lao on entry 30 day visa if you are on a UK passport. You can pay in Thai Baht but it works out quite a lot more expensive that way, I don't know why!

When you get to Vientiane, the Thai consulate is NOT at the Thai Embassy, it's in a building on the Bourichane Road, it's close to the Lao Singapore College and all the tuk-tuk drivers know that one (most of them know the Thai consulate as well). The consulate is in a business area around which there is, by all accounts, not much to do. You may be better off staying down on the riverside which is the happening area and taking a tuk-tuk to the consulate for your business there. I have used the Riverside Palace Hotel on both occasions I have been there; it's not too silly expensive, the rooms tend to be a bit shabby but quite bearable, the beds are comfortable, the breakfast's OK, the aircon works, it's a 30 second walk to the riverbank area and virtually on top of the huge evening market that happens nightly on the bank of the Mekong.

In Vientiane, there are ATMs absolutely everywhere and they take credit cards. You can buy US$ and Thai Baht very easily in banks which are also omnipresent. Lao Kip, Thai Baht and US$ are universally accepted although the exchange rate you will be given for Thai Baht is pretty dismal!

Enjoy!

[silver sea]

Thank you all for your helpful replies.

There is one further question. I shall be travelling from Thailand to Vientiane and back again on my motorcycle. The person (Farang) I bought the bike from says that I do not need to take the Green Book with me; I need only to show photocopies of the relevant page in the book.

I have however just noticed THIS ARTICLE from the Internet. If you look at the text under photo #3 you will see that the original green book is required; copies will not be accepted.

If you have to take the original book with you, then there is always a danger that it will get lost or stolen; and then you will have problems when, later on, you want to sell the bike.

Does anyone have experience of taking their motorcycle across the border e.g. the Friendship Bridge at Nong Khai please?

[Gonsalviz]

I never make any of those entries and never been asked.

[Gonsalviz]

Depends on who you talk to. I have been told I can but the general rule is bridges will not be crossed on a motorbike. Ferry's are fine. So I have been told. I have gotten so many different answers I leave my bike in Thailand and do the bus thing.

[ubonjoe]

Questions about taking your bike into Laos are best asked in this forum. Motorcycles in Thailand

[GuyL]

...

Not mentioned in the application form, not only will you need a copy of your passport information page, but also of your Lao entry stamp and your Lao visa. (photocopying available on site for 20 Baht)

...

On site, the regular price is 5 baht per photocopy. Give the exact change (coins are accepted) because at least one guy who operates the photocopier there tends to "forget" to give you back your change if you give him a 20 baht bill to pay your two photocopies.

I should have mentioned the 20 Baht was for three copies (Face page / Lao visa / Entry visa). I noticed he was charging everyone the same, so that is what I gave him. Thanks for mentioning it, will know for next time. Regards.

You're welcome.

Usually, I need only two photocopies to be made there (Lao visa + entry stamp pages). All my other photocopies (including my passport face page) are made in Thailand (for half a baht per photocopy) before entering Laos. By the way, I usually need more than one copy of my passeport face page, because I always have at least one with me and I also give one to my hotel.

[Gonsalviz]

Questions about taking your bike into Laos are best asked in this forum. Motorcycles in Thailand

The problem is, that at the border, it depends on the persons mood of the day.