Getting into Laos is straightforward for most nationalities, but a few details are worth knowing before arrival.
Visa on arrival is available at Laos’s main international airports and most land borders for the majority of nationalities. Bring a passport photo, cash in USD, and a printed or digital copy of your passport’s photo page, the process is simple but goes faster with these ready.
eVisa option: Many travelers now apply online before the trip instead, avoiding the arrival queue entirely. It typically takes a few working days to process and costs the same or slightly more than visa on arrival.
Land border crossings from Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam are common backpacker entry points. Just make sure the visa is arranged with enough lead time if crossing during a busy period, and double check that specific border crossing actually issues visas on arrival, not all of them do.
How long you get: Most visas on arrival grant 30 days, extendable at immigration offices in bigger cities for a per-day fee if the trip runs longer than planned.
One thing people forget: make sure the passport has at least six months of validity left and a couple of blank pages, this trips up more travelers than the visa process itself.
For the exact costs by nationality and a step-by-step of what the arrival process actually looks like, we break it all down in our Laos guide.