9 minutes ago, Bangkok or bust said:

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.  

 

 

   Did you do that ?

*Edit * Seems that you did 

Edited October 11, 20169 yr by sanemax

26 minutes ago, sanemax said:

 

   Did you do that ?

*Edit * Seems that you did 

Yes, I did. I think they all new they just took another stupid foreigners money

More than 10 years back I had exactly the same, it's a kind of scam they did run back then. At that time I still needed the VoA, they send you from one window to the next one, somewhere you paid like 20 bath, got a kinda of receipt, and they stamped the receipt, but not the passport. Upon return we were supposed to pay 200$, don't remember if that was for both of us or one person, however we sat it out, and 2 hours later we were on our way. Might have been no place in their jail

Needles to say I avoided LAOS for quite some years like the plague!

27 minutes ago, jethro69 said:

More than 10 years back I had exactly the same, it's a kind of scam they did run back then. At that time I still needed the VoA, they send you from one window to the next one, somewhere you paid like 20 bath, got a kinda of receipt, and they stamped the receipt, but not the passport. Upon return we were supposed to pay 200$, don't remember if that was for both of us or one person, however we sat it out, and 2 hours later we were on our way. Might have been no place in their jail

Needles to say I avoided LAOS for quite some years like the plague!

Unfortunately this was only my own ignorance. I had been in the country illegally for 12 days. They could have fined me more, or jailed me. 

6 minutes ago, Bangkok or bust said:

Unfortunately this was only my own ignorance. I had been in the country illegally for 12 days. They could have fined me more, or jailed me. 

 

You get a scolding and a small fine. That is all that was ever going to happen. You made a minor mistake and that is about the gist of it. This happens from time to time on the Lao border and each time you get a plethora of uninformed posts that contradict each other. Laos is a laid back country and doesn't like putting foreigners in jail arbitrarily. What they do like is small bribes and fines.

 

 

Slap on the wrist and now you have a story you can tell your friends over a beer or two about how you entered Lao illegally and faced being in Lao prison. Luckily the illegal entry was into Lao because had it been the other way into Thailand the consequences would most likely have been more severe or at least expensive.

 

All that being said you don't need to go to the bridge to get an exit stamp they have an immigration office in the center near Prathu Xay that you can do it at. `   

I had a similar experience some years ago when I went to Vientiane to renew my Thai visa.  The difference in my case was that I flew into Vientiane and got a visa on arrival at the airport.  I didn't bother to check if my visa had been stamped because I assumed it would be stamped by the official handling the visa.  When I got to the Thai consulate to apply for my Thai visa, the told me they couldn't process my visa because my Lao entry visa hadn't been stamped.  I then rushed to the airport and found the guys from whom I had bought my Lao visa shortly before.  They remembered me - and stamped my visa for me for free.

 

After it was all over, I thought about it - and I'm almost certain that it was a scam.  Apparently there is a $100 fine for entering the country without having your visa stamped, which they hit you with upon departure.  In my case I don't think they were counting on seeing me again so soon.  As it was, they could not claim that they didn't remember me.  And I am certain that an officer who sits there all day doing nothing but stamping visas could not have somehow forgotten to stamp mine.  I think he looked at me and figured I had an extra $100 to spare.  In any case, it is THEIR responsibility to stamp my visa.  Have you ever entered Thailand without your visa/passport being stamped?  While I'm sure it must happen sometimes, I lived in Thailand for 20 years, entered the country probably 100 times - and it never happened to me that they "forgot" to stamp my passport.

 

Again, I am convinced that it is a scam.

Surely the OP must realise that just getting a visa doesn't guarantee you entry to another country?Someone has to check and then stamp that visa for it to be valid,otherwise how do they know that you have a visa at all?
Seems like common sense to me but you know what they say about that...it's not too common!

2 hours ago, jethro69 said:

More than 10 years back I had exactly the same, it's a kind of scam they did run back then. At that time I still needed the VoA, they send you from one window to the next one, somewhere you paid like 20 bath, got a kinda of receipt, and they stamped the receipt, but not the passport. Upon return we were supposed to pay 200$, don't remember if that was for both of us or one person, however we sat it out, and 2 hours later we were on our way. Might have been no place in their jail

Needles to say I avoided LAOS for quite some years like the plague!

 

    It is still the same system and it isnt a scam .

You get the forms at one window , fill the forms out hand the forms back in and then wait and then collect the PP and visa from a different window .

   I cannot see where the scam was, that you speak of

2 hours ago, sanemax said:

 

    It is still the same system and it isnt a scam .

You get the forms at one window , fill the forms out hand the forms back in and then wait and then collect the PP and visa from a different window .

   ...

 

... and then you go to one of the booths and present your passport with the visa, and they stamp you into the country.  

 

In my earlier runs, another official used to inspect your visa / stamp before letting you out the end of the processing area.  On my last run, they had some card-exit system, instead.

1 hour ago, JackThompson said:

 

... and then you go to one of the booths and present your passport with the visa, and they stamp you into the country.  

 

 

 

   At the Nong Khai and Mukdahan borders, they stamp you in whilst they issue the Visa , then is no need to get stamped in at a booth because its already stamped .

   The card is to show that youve paid the border crossing fee

7 hours ago, jethro69 said:

More than 10 years back I had exactly the same, it's a kind of scam they did run back then. At that time I still needed the VoA, they send you from one window to the next one, somewhere you paid like 20 bath, got a kinda of receipt, and they stamped the receipt, but not the passport. Upon return we were supposed to pay 200$, don't remember if that was for both of us or one person, however we sat it out, and 2 hours later we were on our way. Might have been no place in their jail

Needles to say I avoided LAOS for quite some years like the plague!

Unfortunately this was only my own ignorance. I had been in the country illegally for 12 days. They could have fined me more, or jailed me. 

2 hours ago, sanemax said:

 

   At the Nong Khai and Mukdahan borders, they stamp you in whilst they issue the Visa , then is no need to get stamped in at a booth because its already stamped .

   The card is to show that youve paid the border crossing fee

 

I cannot remember what they do at Nong Khai. At Mukdahan/Savannakhet, they sometimes do the entry stamp when giving you the visa, but more often do not. I think it depends on whether a senior officer is present in the visa section, but not sure.

The same thing happened to me in July this year. I was refused entry into Laos since my passport would expire within 6 months (5 months and 3 weeks). The big problem for me was that my stuff (camera, money, and so on) was on a bus headed to Viang Chan. An hour later a Lao official seemed to suggest that I could cross the border into Laos. Happily, the bus had waited for me and the driver hustled me onto the bus and drove off without my passport getting stamped

 

The next morning, a Saturday, I went to the Lao Immigration Office near Talat Sao. Although the Office was officially closed the main entrance was open and I entered and encountered 3 top officials. One of them listened to my story and wrote a letter for me to take back to the border indicating that they should give me a one-month stay. This is exactly what took place. I did not have to pay any fine. All worked out well.

 

I should add that the Immigration official phoned ahead to the border to let them know I was on my way. Subsequently, he called a taxi, instructed the driver where to go, wished me well and went home.

 

 

 

Edited October 11, 20169 yr by Stone Inscription 1
left out information

Curious about the baht 3,000 fine.

Did you get a receipt for it?  Be nice if you did, but whatever works....

 

Mac

guys ; its the same for Cambodia by land

you go to one office to buy ur voa,

go to another to get it stamped

doesn't really take rocket science, but i guess some people leave their heads at home

 

Drive a car into Laos and u need ur cars passport book, that also NEEDS to be stamped at immigration for Thailand and Laos (in and out)

I remember a few years back when I had to do visa runs at Nong Khai, how easy it was to just go into or exit Laos without any checks at all. It is easy for someone who is new by mistake just walk around the passport checkpoint.

21 hours 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

yeah i can see that happening

Just out of curiosity:

 

1) What kind of visa did you obtain from the Embassy of Laos in Bangkok?

 

2) What made you not to simply obtain a VOA at the border (as most people do nowadays)?

 

3) What is your nationality?

 

The same occured to me as the poster - I got my Lao visa in Bangkok - and my passport was not stamped into Lao.

 

If you get the visa at the border they normally stamp your passport at the booth where you pick up your passport after being processed - And then at the point where you presented your passport to enter Lao - immigration officers normally expect to see this stamp already done and when its not (because you got your visa in Bangkok) they miss this - This is what happened to me and the op.

 

In my case I went back and presented my passport to ENTRY into Lao immigration and they stamped my passport without a charge.

The op went back to immigration EXIT from Lao, but unfortunately they fixed the op problem with a fine.

But also when I went back I caught the same immigration officer and on the same day (not the next day like the op) - so this might not have worked out the same for the op as it did for me.

On October 11, 2016 at 1:05 PM, 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. 

 

Ouch.

Just to say .. My first entry to Laos, I got my visa from the embassy in BKK. 

 

I entered through Chong Mek which is still just a mess as it was then .. So easy just to walk through not knowing that you had to walk up to the big building up the stairs. I thought as I had a visa I had nothing to do, so I sat there under a tree, waiting for the guys to get a VOA. If I couldn't speak Thai and wasn't waffling to the Thais, I would have just got on the bus to Pakse and been none the wiser.

 

Its easily done.

 

People were saying the same to me .. Why do that, you can get a VOA?

 

Why not? If you are person that plans ahead, it's second nature to do so, nothin wrong with it. If you live close to Ramkamhaeng it's no biggie to run the passport in, pick it up the next day and it saves a lot of time at the border. Nowadays I turn up at the border, I plan ahead and pay in USD.

Edited October 12, 20169 yr by recom273

A similar situation happened us. Three of us as a family got the visas on arrival (at Vientiane bridge) handed in our passports got stamped and away we went. A couple days later about to go back I noticed there was no entry stamp on my daughters passport. At passport control the officer looked at all our passports then said "wait". He left his booth and headed inside the building. Came back and let us leave. I leafed through my daughters passport and there was a new entry stamp back dated a couple days. This must happen often.  

Edited October 12, 20169 yr by Bopp

Plenty of border crossings where one could just slip in without properly being stamped in. I agree that op should have tried to get stamped IN after all, after explaining his matter. Now hes stamped out has to get back to thailand and then back again to lao for visa. Bummer/bugger.

whow !!glad I don"t have to do all that crap,LOL

8 hours ago, post said:

Just out of curiosity:

 

1) What kind of visa did you obtain from the Embassy of Laos in Bangkok?

 

2) What made you not to simply obtain a VOA at the border (as most people do nowadays)?

 

3) What is your nationality?

 

1)tourist 

2)i had read about long lines and the bus only gives you 20 minutes to do everything, and I'm close to the Laos embassy near huai Khwang. 

3) American 

A bit different than your current situation. I once and only once did not check for my entry stamp when I entered by train at Tana Lang (near the Friendship bridge).  It cost me $100 to get out of Laos as I did not have an entry stamp when I was leaving at the VTE airport. If I were you I would go back to where you entered immediately and show them that you did not receive an entry stamp. Maybe they will give you one.

Because even if you try to leave and re-enter, you will not be allowed to leave without that entry stamp.

 

BTW I first refused to pay the 100usd as it was their fault. Were not going to let me leave w/o paying. Expensive way to l;earn to ALWAYS CHECK FOR THE PROPERLY DATED ENTRY STAMP TO ANY COUNTRY.

OP Always check stamps before leaving immigration.  You learned the lesson the hard way. Immigration makes mistakes from time to time with wrong dates, wrong stamp, Not stamping, etc.  Doesn't happen allot but it happens from time to time. Hope you enjoy your time in Thailand and welcome to international travel!!

Something similar happened to me too. I walked through immigration on the Thai side (were they having lunch?) without being questioned, jumped on the 20 baht bus to the Laos side to be told on the Laos side to go back to the Thai side to get an exit stamp( not easy and took 2 hours by some red-faced Thai immigration officials). I couldn't get stamped out of Laos because I'd never been stamped into Laos because I'd never been stamped out of Thailand(you get the picture) Jesus wept.

On 11/10/2016 at 11:50 AM, 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.

Your a patient man Joe.

18 hours ago, catinthehat said:

A bit different than your current situation. I once and only once did not check for my entry stamp when I entered by train at Tana Lang (near the Friendship bridge).  It cost me $100 to get out of Laos as I did not have an entry stamp when I was leaving at the VTE airport. If I were you I would go back to where you entered immediately and show them that you did not receive an entry stamp. Maybe they will give you one.

Because even if you try to leave and re-enter, you will not be allowed to leave without that entry stamp.

 

BTW I first refused to pay the 100usd as it was their fault. Were not going to let me leave w/o paying. Expensive way to l;earn to ALWAYS CHECK FOR THE PROPERLY DATED ENTRY STAMP TO ANY COUNTRY.

Whenever an official from a corrupt third-world country makes you pay for his mistake, you can be sure that the mistake was intentional - and that it is a scam.  (See my earlier story about my experience at the Vientiane airport.)

23 hours ago, recom273 said:

 

Ouch.

Just to say .. My first entry to Laos, I got my visa from the embassy in BKK. 

 

I entered through Chong Mek which is still just a mess as it was then .. So easy just to walk through not knowing that you had to walk up to the big building up the stairs. I thought as I had a visa I had nothing to do, so I sat there under a tree, waiting for the guys to get a VOA. If I couldn't speak Thai and wasn't waffling to the Thais, I would have just got on the bus to Pakse and been none the wiser.

 

Its easily done.

 

People were saying the same to me .. Why do that, you can get a VOA?

 

Why not? If you are person that plans ahead, it's second nature to do so, nothin wrong with it. If you live close to Ramkamhaeng it's no biggie to run the passport in, pick it up the next day and it saves a lot of time at the border. Nowadays I turn up at the border, I plan ahead and pay in USD.

Good to plan ahead but no time saved as everybody else gets voa.In fact you wasted time twice at the Laos embassy.