Laos Travel Guide
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Guide
Since September 2025, everyone entering or leaving Laos must complete the Lao Digital Immigration Form, the LDIF, an online form that replaced the paper arrival and departure card and is meant to speed up the counters. Passports must be valid for at least six months.
Visa exempt stays are 30 days for ASEAN citizens, plus Belarus, Japan, Mongolia, Russia, South Korea, and Timor-Leste, 15 days for Luxembourg and Switzerland, and 14 days for Myanmar. Most other travelers can get a visa on arrival at Luang Prabang, Pakse, and Vientiane airports and at most land crossings, for 30 days, extendable up to 180 days at provincial immigration offices. The e-Visa, launched in July 2019, allows a 30 day stay, with sources differing on how long it stays valid before you enter, commonly quoted as 60 or 180 days, and it is accepted at all three international airports, the four Thai-Lao Friendship Bridges, the railway crossing, and the Boten checkpoint with China.
Border crossings
- The four Friendship Bridges to Thailand
They link Nong Khai, Mukdahan, Nakhon Phanom, and Chiang Khong with the Lao side, and all four accept the e-Visa. This site's Thailand guide describes the train and bus routes on the Thai side to Vientiane.
- Boten, the China crossing by road and rail
Boten has both road and railway crossings. The railway, the Kunming to Vientiane through train, accepts only the e-Visa, so arrange it before you board.
- Daensavan, into Vietnam
The Vietnam crossing at Daensavan is listed as visa on arrival only. It links with Lao Bao on the Vietnamese side.
- Nong Nok Khiene, the only official crossing with Cambodia
It faces Trapeang Kriel on the Cambodian side and is described as open daily from 7 am to 5 pm, with both Lao and Cambodian visas available on arrival.
Transit routes
- The Kunming to Vientiane train
It has run daily since 13 April 2023, and takes about nine and a half hours, with everyone getting off at the border stations to clear immigration. Read this site's China guide for the details.
- Laos to Cambodia, by land
With the Thai-Cambodian land border closed, described in this site's Cambodia guide, Nong Nok Khiene is the one official land link between Laos and Cambodia.
Entry point notes
- Get the LDIF done in advance
It applies on arrival and on departure, so budget time for it both times.
- Extensions happen inside the country
A visa on arrival can be extended up to 180 days through provincial immigration offices, with fees that vary.
- Not every crossing takes an e-Visa
Daensavan does not, and the Boten railway takes only the e-Visa, so match your visa type to your route before you leave.