I crossed into Laos without stamping visa

[Bangkok or bust]

Omg..... This is a nightmare. When I crossed into Laos I didn't know I was supposed to get my Laos visa stamped.  I obtained the visa from Laos consulate in bkk. Now I'm trying to get my visa in Vientiane, and they will not because there's no stamp. I came in at Ubon on the 29th of September, and have been waiting for documents to arrive in Vientiane.  Can I just go back into Thailand at Nong Khai, then obtain new visa, and come back into Vientiane? 

 

I really need help now.  I'm heading to Nong Khai now. 

[ubonjoe]

I suggest you go to Lao immigration at the bridge In Vientiane to see if they will do an entry stamp for you. 

Not sure how you managed to enter Laos without being stamped into the country.

[sanemax]

When you apply for a Laos Visa upon entry , they also stamp you into Laos when issuing the Visa, so , there is no need to get stamped in at the immigration booth .

   It would be quite possible to just walk through the immigration booth without getting stamped in , with Laos immigration (booth) assuming that you got a Visa upon entry and already been stamped in by them

  

[Bangkok or bust]

2 minutes ago, sanemax said:

When you apply for a Laos Visa upon entry , they also stamp you into Laos when issuing the Visa, so , there is no need to get stamped in at the immigration booth .

   It would be quite possible to just walk through the immigration booth without getting stamped in , with Laos immigration (booth) assuming that you got a Visa upon entry and already been stamped in by them

  

I got my Lao visa in Bangkok, not on border. 

[Bangkok or bust]

7 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I suggest you go to Lao immigration at the bridge In Vientiane to see if they will do an entry stamp for you. 

Not sure how you managed to enter Laos without being stamped into the country.

Going to bridge now.... Thanks.  I'm a clueless person I guess.  I'm not knowledgeable on visa issues. Nobody asked to see my visa, I got my departed stamp when I crossed over, from the Thai immigration booth when we got out of the bus and walked under the road. 

[sanemax]

^ Yes, I was just saying how easy it is to not get stamped into Laos if you already have a Visa in your PP

[sanemax]

4 minutes ago, Bangkok or bust said:

Going to bridge now.... Thanks.  I'm a clueless person I guess.  I'm not knowledgeable on visa issues. Nobody asked to see my visa, I got my departed stamp when I crossed over, from the Thai immigration booth when we got out of the bus and walked under the road. 

 

  You got a "Depart" stamp from Thai immigration ?

I thought that you were trying to depart from Laos and enter Thailand 

[Bangkok or bust]

1 minute ago, sanemax said:

 

  You got a "Depart" stamp from Thai immigration ?

I thought that you were trying to depart from Laos and enter Thailand 

I do have the depart stamp. When I crossed from Ubon. On the 29th of September. 

[sanemax]

Thailand will not let you into Thailand, unless you have the "Depart" stamp from Laos Where exactly are you now ?

Have Laos stamped you out from Laos today ?

[Ronuk]

2 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Thailand will not let you into Thailand, unless you have the "Depart" stamp from Laos Where exactly are you now ?

Have Laos stamped you out from Laos today ?

<deleted>! He's in Laos but not been stamped in! Get a grip. Basically he's there illegally.

[sanemax]

1 minute ago, Ronuk said:

<deleted>! He's in Laos but not been stamped in! Get a grip. Basically he's there illegally.

 

  He said that he was going to the bridge and that he had been stamped out .

Seems that he meant he got stamped out from Thailand previously.

I wondered whether he had managed to get stamped in and out of Laos at the same time (now, today )

   

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, sanemax said:

 

  He said that he was going to the bridge and that he had been stamped out .

Seems that he meant he got stamped out from Thailand previously.

I wondered whether he had managed to get stamped in and out of Laos at the same time (now, today )

   

Go back and read the OP. He is in Vientiane to apply for a visa. They would not accept his application for the visa because he did not have a Lao entry stamp.

He is going to bridge now to try and get an entry stamp done.

[sanemax]

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

Go back and read the OP. He is in Vientiane to apply for a visa. They would not accept his application for the visa because he did not have a Lao entry stamp.

He is going to bridge now to try and get an entry stamp done.

 

  He did ask whether he could go back into Thailand and get another Laos Visa and then get another entry stamp into Laos on that new Laos Visa , He didnt mention trying to get a Lao entry stamp (now, today) , seems like he was going to try to enter Thailand and get a new Visa without getting either stamped out or in to Laos

"Can I just go back into Thailand at Nong Khai, then obtain new visa, and come back into Vientiane? "

 

 

 

[darrendsd]

53 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I suggest you go to Lao immigration at the bridge In Vientiane to see if they will do an entry stamp for you. 

Not sure how you managed to enter Laos without being stamped into the country.

 

As someone who has crossed that border many times I would say it is very easy to get in without being stamped, security is non existent, however the OP should have known he needed to be stamped in 

Edited October 11, 2016 by darrendsd

[IMA_FARANG]

In the 3 times I have been into Laos i flew into Laos..t.wice to Savannakhet and once to Vientianne.

Got my Laos visa all 3 tines on arrival in the airport in Laos, and they were stamped all 3 times by the Laos immigration prople in the airport.

 

[ubonjoe]

18 minutes ago, sanemax said:

 

  He did ask whether he could go back into Thailand and get another Laos Visa and then get another entry stamp into Laos on that new Laos Visa , He didnt mention trying to get a Lao entry stamp (now, today) , seems like he was going to try to enter Thailand and get a new Visa without getting either stamped out or in to Laos

"Can I just go back into Thailand at Nong Khai, then obtain new visa, and come back into Vientiane? "

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

I suggest you go to Lao immigration at the bridge In Vientiane to see if they will do an entry stamp for you. 

Not sure how you managed to enter Laos without being stamped into the country.

 

51 minutes ago, Bangkok or bust said:

Going to bridge now.... Thanks.  I'm a clueless person I guess.  I'm not knowledgeable on visa issues. Nobody asked to see my visa, I got my departed stamp when I crossed over, from the Thai immigration booth when we got out of the bus and walked under the road. 

I guess you missed the two posts I have quoted.

[sanemax]

4 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

 

 

I guess you missed the two post I have quoted.

 

  Nope, I did see them .

It was when he said that he is going to the bridge and got a "departed stamp from Thailand" It wasnt clear that he meant the departure stamp from 29th September and I was merely asking him where he is now .

   I did see what you advised him to do and I was asking him what he did do /has done .

   I was just going to advise him NOT to try to leave Laos without an exit stamp , if he hadnt done so already

Anyway, its an on going situation, which could get quite serious , so, lets move on 

[Thanyaburi Mac]

He needs an ARRIVAL stamp for Laos.  He entered from Ubon and should have gotten the stamp when he crossed over to Champasak province, but didn't.  He then came up to Vientiane and tried to get a Thai visa from the Consulate, no go as didn't have a Lao ENTRY stamp.

 

So, he's going to try to go Lao Immigration at Thannaleng, on the Lao end of the bridge from Nong Khai, and ask there for a Lao ENTRY stamp.  I expect they'll say  "no," but I be happy to be wrong.

 

I expect they'll tell him to go back to Pakse and out to the border where he entered and ask the Lao Immigration folks there for HELP!

 

Mac

[Bangkok or bust]

They made me pay a 3000 thb dine, then gave me exit stamp and stamped my Lao visa used.  Now I'm going to Thailand, to start over. 

[sanemax]

1 minute ago, Bangkok or bust said:

They made me pay a 3000 thb dine, then gave me exit stamp and stamped my Lao visa used.  Now I'm going to Thailand, to start over. 

 

   Could you not have just got an entry stamp insead of an exit stamp ?

[sanemax]

3 minutes ago, Bangkok or bust said:

 Now I'm going to Thailand, to start over. 

 

   Could you go straight back into Laos and get a Visa on Arrival, instead of going to BKK for a Visa  ?

[lopburi3]

To enter either country you need an exit stamp from the other.

[sanemax]

1 minute ago, lopburi3 said:

To enter either country you need an exit stamp from the other.

 

   He didnt have an entry stamp into Laos, that is what I meant .

Instead of getting a Laos exit stamp , he could have  tried to get a Laos entry stamp and there would be no need to go back into Thailand

[lopburi3]

He entered Laos illegally and has been fined for that.  He had no current Thai exit stamp to show Laos immigration so would have not been allowed legal entry.

[sanemax]

1 minute ago, lopburi3 said:

He entered Laos illegally and has been fined for that.  He had no current Thai exit stamp to show Laos immigration so would have not been allowed legal entry.

 

  He did have a vaild Thai exit stamp from September 29 th.

He could have asked to get his Laos entry stamp back dated to when he arrived

[tubby johnson]

54 minutes ago, sanemax said:

 

  He did have a vaild Thai exit stamp from September 29 th.

He could have asked to get his Laos entry stamp back dated to when he arrived

 

Apparently that didn't work with the Lao authorities, then.

 

In the worst case, they could have sent him back to the Ubon border checkpoint to get it sorted out. I'm glad that he's in the clear now and can start the whole process over. When he gets to the Thai consulate in Vientiane tomorrow morning, it won't be as crowded as the horrible Mondays and Thursdays there. He should be in and out of there in less than an hour, and enjoy a Beerlao with a view of the Mekong to celebrate.

[Bangkok or bust]

1 hour ago, sanemax said:

 

   Could you not have just got an entry stamp insead of an exit stamp ?

 

1 hour ago, sanemax said:

 

   Could you not have just got an entry stamp insead of an exit stamp ?

I tried, they were pissed saying I broke many Laos laws, and gave me a look of disgust. Then said "you must pay" 

 

Better than jail I think. 

Edited October 11, 2016 by Bangkok or bust
Typo

[Bangkok or bust]

1 minute ago, tubby johnson said:

 

Apparently that didn't work with the Lao authorities, then.

 

In the worst case, they could have sent him back to the Ubon border checkpoint to get it sorted out. I'm glad that he's in the clear now and can start the whole process over. When he gets to the Thai consulate in Vientiane tomorrow morning, it won't be as crowded as the horrible Mondays and Thursdays there. He should be in and out of there in less than an hour, and enjoy a Beerlao with a view of the Mekong to celebrate.

Hell  yeah brother. 

[Bangkok or bust]

1 hour ago, sanemax said:

 

   Could you go straight back into Laos and get a Visa on Arrival, instead of going to BKK for a Visa  ?

Yes I only had to go back across the bridge, arrive, then turn the car around and depart. Then go back across the bridge and enter with new visa.  

 

[Bangkok or bust]

Unfortunately I have only traveled out of America one time it was two years ago when I came to Thailand and I came by airplane at that point they direct you directly to customs and immigration and it's very easy you hand them your passport they do what they do they hand it back. This is the first time I've ever had to cross by land and had no idea about the stamping of the visa. Today the whole thing took about an hour and a half and it cost me 4,500thb.  Huge lesson. I still have to drop off my passport at the consulate tomorrow and pay another 2000. They could always deny my B visa too. I already have the application filled out from today when the small Lao company helping me, told me the consulate  won't give me the b visa because I'm in laos illegally....... 

 

As usual thanks for everyone's help. 

 

Bryan.