Laos visa for British citizens

What it means in practice

30 days is about a month. If you arrive on 1 November 2026, your last legal day is 30 November 2026, because the arrival day is day one. Use the stay calculator for your own dates.

For a longer base you need an extension, if one exists, or a different visa from the start. Repeated back-to-back entries are at the officer's discretion.

How Laos counts your stay: Stay is counted from the day of entry and is limited to the period on your visa or visa exemption.

Before you go

Official details are shown in English.

• Visa on arrival — Cost: Depends on nationality; paid in cash; Processing: At international airports and border checkpoints; Validity: Single entry; Stay: As stamped on entry. Apply on the official site
• Lao e-Visa — At least 3 working days before travel; Depends on nationality (fee calculator on the portal); non-refundable. Apply on laoevisa.gov.la: upload a 4×6 cm ICAO-standard photo taken within the last 6 months and a full photo of the passport bio page including the two MRZ lines. Pay online; the approval letter arrives by e-mail. Print it and show it with your passport on arrival. Valid only at: Wattay airport (Vientiane), Luang Prabang airport, Pakse airport, Lao–Thai Friendship Bridges I (Vientiane), II (Savannakhet) and IV (Bokeo), Boten checkpoint and Boten railway station (Luang Namtha), Khamsavath railway station (Vientiane). Official site

At the border

Official details are shown in English.

• Passport valid at least 6 months
• Printed e-Visa approval letter, or cash and a photo for visa on arrival
• The passport used for entry must be the one the e-Visa was issued for

How to avoid overstaying

• Go by your stamp or visa. The date the officer gives you is the one that counts, even if it is shorter than the maximum.
• Plan to leave a day or two early. With 30 days, book your exit before the last legal day so a cancelled flight doesn't push you over.
• Extend before you run out. Tourist visas can be extended at the Immigration Department in Vientiane before expiry; a daily fee is charged.
• Penalties. Our data does not list the overstay penalty for Laos. Ask the immigration authority before you risk it: fines, deportation and entry bans are common elsewhere.

Good to know

Official details are shown in English.

• Use only laoevisa.gov.la; other sites are intermediaries that add fees.

Questions

Sources and last check

Entry rules for this destination were last checked against official sources on 30 October 2026. Visa-free days come from the passport matrix in the Bordr app, corrected where the official rules differ.

• Lao eVisa official portal (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
• Lao eVisa — information: processing, ports, documents

This page is general information, not legal advice. Entry rules change and border officers have the final say. Check the official government source for your destination before you travel.

Includes visa data from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), retrieved 1 November 2026; Bordr's official-source checks take precedence.

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