Going to Vientiane for a visa next week

[Took]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm going to Vientiane next week to apply for a visa.

 

I have some questions I'd love to ask you now.

 

1. Will the Thai Embassy open every day (Mon thru Fri) next week

and what time does it open and close for the visa application?

 

2. What time will Friendship Bridge open in the morning? I'd think

I will probably be able to get there by 6am.

 

3. How can I get to the Thai Embassy in Central Vientiane if I can

cross the bridge at around 6am? Will the public bus to Morning

Market have started running by then or will I have to take a taxi?

How much will the taxi cost you?

 

4. How busy has it been recently since they started issuing a TR

for free early this month? Should I avoid going there on Mon-Tue

and Thu-Fri?

 

Thank you in advance.

Edited December 24, 2016 by Took

[irlguy1]

My advice is use an agent. Yes it costs more but I did it last week and agent sorted everything I do didn't have to wait for hours in the long queue and hot sun. They drove me there and filled in the paperwork then drove me to hotel that they booked and then dropped my passport back to me the next day so I didn't don't have to go back and queue again


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[sceadugenga]

Office Hours :	Monday to Friday 08.30 hrs. - 12.00 hrs. & 13.00 hrs. - 16.30 hrs.
Consular Section :	Monday to Friday 08.30 hrs. – 12.00 hrs. : Application for Visa 13.00 hrs. – 15.00 hrs. : Distribution of Passports Affixed with AppropriateVisa
Weekly Holiday :	Saturday – Sunday

[sceadugenga]

I use an Agent where possible, doing it yourself is an experience but I'm over that now.

 

Plenty of transport form the border, ranging from decent cars with driver to the large tuktuks that leave when full.

Priced accordingly, from about 500B down.

 

[thetruth revealer]

What are the opening hours of the border ???

[sanemax]

From the Laos border, there is a public bus to the morning market , 20 Bhat, or a taxi for about 100 Baht . Its about a 15 minute walk from the market to the Thai Embassy .

   I was there last Monday and it wasnt too busy , I got there about 7.30 AM and there were about 150 people ahead of me in the queue . I have previously been there at 11 AM and was still able to make a visa application

Edited December 24, 2016 by sanemax

[theguyfromanotherforum]

There is nothing to do in Vientiane, so I don't see a point of using an agent.

[darrendsd]

7 minutes ago, thetruth revealer said:

What are the opening hours of the border ???

 

It opens at 6

[irlguy1]

There is nothing to do in Vientiane, so I don't see a point of using an agent.

That's exactly the point in using an agent lol
The place is horrible and I wouldn't want to spend any time extra standing in queues or traveling around it


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[SplitInfinitive]

Some nice cafes and restaurant now.

[boomerangutang]

I used to do visa runs to Vientanne.  It was ok.  The earlier Thai Imm office there was small and always crammed with hot sweaty people, myself included.  The one good thing was: there was an English-speaking Thai who would go around the room, assisting people - before they went to the window.  There should be a helpful person like that at every bureaucratic establishment.  He/she would halve the hassles and time entailed.  At least half the people in the room are missing some little something - and having a friendly bureaucrat agent would ease the process.  At the least, it would preclude many people going two or three times to the window, ....each time having to return to the back of the queue. 

[sanemax]

BTW, you need to provide an address in Thailand, two photos and you must collect your PP the next day

[thetruth revealer]

31 minutes ago, darrendsd said:

 

It opens at 6

closing at ...?

 

[Blablaboy]

Bring 2 pcs passport photo and fill up the form. Photocopy your docs ready if not there is a photocopy booth at Thai Embassy ( $$$ ). My advice is dont go on monday as it is cramp with peoples as well agent. Tuk tuk or taxi in Vientiane is expensive compare to Thai. 

[Roger Lee]

2 hours ago, irlguy1 said:

My advice is use an agent. Yes it costs more but I did it last week and agent sorted everything I do didn't have to wait for hours in the long queue and hot sun. They drove me there and filled in the paperwork then drove me to hotel that they booked and then dropped my passport back to me the next day so I didn't don't have to go back and queue again


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[Saastrajaa]

2 hours ago, irlguy1 said:

 

 

That's exactly the point in using an agent lol
The place is horrible and I wouldn't want to spend any time extra standing in queues or traveling around it


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What the hell do you want?  It's a lovely little town which still has trees, and friendly people.  There are lots of cafes and restaurants.  It's by far the most pleasant and walkable capital city in Southeast Asia.

[Saastrajaa]

2 hours ago, SplitInfinitive said:

Some nice cafes and restaurant now.

 

Now?  It's had those at least as long as I've been going there (14 years now).

[Roger Lee]

1 hour ago, Roger Lee said:

 

 

[uglybob]

Mate, me and my wife went to Vientiane 2 weeks ago to change visas. We didn't use an agent cause it's pretty straight forward and your just wasting your money. Hundreds of people do it themselves each week. Plus there are signs everywhere saying be careful of agents as you may not get what you pay for. The form is on the website plus what documents are required. The first day we got in at 8 and we were out by 9. The second day we were in at 1pm and out by 1.25pm and straight to friendship bridge. 

 

Your biggest expense there will be transport and entry fees to attractions. There is plenty to do in Vientiane just look up trip advisor for attractions. 

 

Goodluck. 

[mstevens]

5 hours ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

There is nothing to do in Vientiane, so I don't see a point of using an agent.

 

Granted, Vientiane is quiet, but it is also charming in a way not so many places in Thailand are any more.

 

There are many lovely cafes and restaurants where you can get really high quality pastries and fabulous coffee.  The people are not nearly as gregarious as the Thais but if you're friendly and chatty and have a warm demeanour they will respond well.  Vientiane is a very relaxing place.  I imagine it might not be on the party guy's radar, but if you enjoy good coffee, quality French cooking, inexpensive wine and enjoy charming eateries where the warm atmosphere matches the quality of the cooking then Vientiane can indeed provide a very pleasant few days.

Edited December 24, 2016 by mstevens

[mcfish]

When I had to do it I couldn't get out of the place fast enough

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[ldiablo72]

My question is, where are you starting from? Why not go to Savannakhet? It is much quieter and so easy. I was there on Wednesday and there were a total of 20 people versus the 300 + people in Vientiane.

[elviajero]

1. Yes. Opens at 08:30 and closes at 11:30.
2. 06:00
3. You need to go to the Consular Section Building in Rue Bourichane, not the Embassy. There's lots of transport from the border.
4. Monday and Thursday are the busiest as that's when the Bangkok visa runs are there. If you apply on Friday you can't collect until Monday. If you go late morning it's the same most days.

[elviajero]

6 hours ago, thetruth revealer said:

What are the opening hours of the border ???

06:00 to 22:00.

[Took]

Hello,

 

Thank you so much for all your info and advice indeed.

 

I went to The Thai Embassy in Vientiane to apply for a visa

on Tuesday 27. I got there at around 7am to find there were

several people waiting there. Not many at all.

 

The gate did open before 8am, when we were let in the embassy

where we were sat down till the office opened. At half 8, the office 

opened, when I roughly counted how many applicants were there.

Around 20. Not many at all, either.

 

The following afternoon I got back to the embassy at around 1pm

to find there were not more than 10 applicants waiting. The gate did

open before half 1, when we were let in the embassy and sat down

again till the office opened.

 

At half 1, the office opened and the ticket numbers that we got the day

before started to be read out like '001' and '002' so I wouldn't even have

to arrive there so early.

 

FYI, they wouldn't accept my photos with the blue background, so I ended

up having to get new photos taken with the white background (20,000kip

or 80B for 6 pieces).

 

I also had to photocopy the entry stamp into Laos on my passport (1,000kip

or 5B).

 

The visas were issued not in the main building as they were a couple of years

ago when I applied for my 1st visa but in the office where we applied for them 

the day before. And my visa was issued for free.

 

I hope that helps.

 

Happy New Year, Everybody!

[sanemax]

Tuesday seems a good day to go, I went on a Monday a few weeks ago and there were about 500 people there getting visas, although most of then were Filipinos

[thaiman]

where do you find an agent to do this for you?

[Roger Lee]

where do you find an agent to do this for you?

They are usually right across or next to the consulate. See my earlier posts for photos.


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