Laos visa requirements for British citizens

Check your circumstances

Read these conditions alongside the entry rule. Where official guidance does not state a condition, that is not confirmation that no condition applies.

Passport type Confirmed for this scope

Only ordinary passports can use the eVisa. Temporary, emergency, special and other passport types are excluded and need to ask a Lao embassy.

Official sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (Lao Official Online Visa, laoevisa.gov.la).

Trip purpose Confirmed for this scope

The eVisa is the tourist visa (T-B3) only. It does not allow paid or unpaid work during the visit.

Official sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (Lao Official Online Visa, laoevisa.gov.la).

Age Confirmed for this scope

Every traveler needs a visa, including children and infants, so apply for each family member.

Official sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (Lao Official Online Visa, laoevisa.gov.la).

Residence Not stated in the cited guidance

The eVisa terms set no rule on where you live. Apply before you travel, from outside Laos.

Official sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (Lao Official Online Visa, laoevisa.gov.la).

Other visas or residence permits Not stated in the cited guidance

The Lao pages read do not say that a visa or residence permit from another country replaces the Lao visa.

Official sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (Lao Official Online Visa, laoevisa.gov.la).

Carrier and arrival route Conditions to check

The eVisa is valid only at nine designated airports, bridges and railway stations. Arriving anywhere else needs another kind of visa.

Official sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (Lao Official Online Visa, laoevisa.gov.la).

Stay and visa validity Confirmed for this scope

The eVisa allows one entry and a 30-day stay from arrival, and it must be used within 60 days of the Approval Letter.

Official sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (Lao Official Online Visa, laoevisa.gov.la).

eVisa or visa on arrival

The UK government says you must have a visa to visit Laos. You can apply online for the single-entry eVisa at least 5 days in advance, or get a single-entry visa on arrival at many entry points, including Vientiane's Wattay airport and the Luang Prabang and Pakse airports. Tourist visas allow 30 days from the date you arrive.

Your passport must have an expiry date at least 6 months after the day you arrive and at least 2 blank pages. Airlines will not let you board without enough blank pages.

Official sources: UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

How the Lao eVisa works

The eVisa site laoevisa.gov.la is run by the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It issues only the tourist visa (T-B3), only for ordinary passports, and the passport must be valid at least 6 months from the day you arrive. You upload the passport bio page and a 4 x 6 cm color photo taken within the last 6 months, then pay online; the fee is not refunded if the application is refused.

Processing usually takes 3 working days, and the Consular Department is closed on Lao public holidays. Your arrival date must fall within 60 days of applying, and the system takes applications up to 5 days before arrival. The Approval Letter is valid for 60 days, and you must carry a printed copy and travel on the same passport you applied with.

Official sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (Lao Official Online Visa, laoevisa.gov.la); Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (Lao Official Online Visa, laoevisa.gov.la); Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (Lao Official Online Visa, laoevisa.gov.la).

Where you can enter with the eVisa

The eVisa works only at nine designated ports: Wattay International Airport and Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge I in Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Pakse international airports, Friendship Bridges II and IV, the Boten checkpoint and Boten Railway Station on the Chinese border, and Khamsavath Railway Station in Vientiane. Use the eVisa lane, show your passport and Approval Letter, and the visa sticker goes into your passport there.

Holding an eVisa does not guarantee entry. Immigration can refuse you, for example without enough money for the stay, and airlines decide boarding on their own rules.

Official sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (Lao Official Online Visa, laoevisa.gov.la); Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (Lao Official Online Visa, laoevisa.gov.la).

Arrival form and entry stamp

Since 1 September 2025 the Department of Immigration asks travelers at Wattay, Luang Prabang and Pakse airports and Friendship Bridge I to register on the Lao Digital Immigration Form (LDIF) at immigration.gov.la, within 3 days before arrival and before departure. It does not replace a visa. Canadian and Australian advice says paper forms are still accepted, so filling in the LDIF ahead is the safer choice.

Make sure your passport is stamped when you enter. You need a valid entry stamp to leave Laos, and missing one can lead to fines or detention.

Official sources: Department of Immigration of the Lao PDR (immigration.gov.la); UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; Government of Canada; Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Smartraveller).

How long you can stay

The eVisa is single entry and gives a 30-day stay from the day you arrive. The UK government says tourist visas went back to 30 days on 1 January 2025 and can be extended twice inside Laos, for up to 60 more days. Do not let your stay run out: the same advice warns that failing to extend within 90 days brings a large fine, deportation and a ban on returning.

Official sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (Lao Official Online Visa, laoevisa.gov.la); Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (Lao Official Online Visa, laoevisa.gov.la); UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.