Laos added one step to the journey in 2025: the Lao Digital Immigration Form (LDIF). The Department of Immigration launched it on 1 September 2025 at Wattay International Airport in Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Pakse international airports and the First Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge, and asks every foreign passport holder to register before entering or leaving the country.
Before you fly
- Check that your passport has at least six months left from the day you arrive.
- Check your visa. Citizens of ASEAN countries can visit without a visa for short stays. Many other nationalities can apply for the official Lao e-Visa at laoevisa.gov.la or get a visa on arrival at major borders. The arrival card does not replace a visa.
- Register your arrival on immigration.gov.la within three days before you arrive. The form asks for your arrival checkpoint and date, passport details and an image of your passport, the purpose of your trip and where you are travelling from. It gives you a QR code to show at the border.
- Use only the official site. Some third-party websites charge to submit the form for you.
At the border
Show your passport, your visa or e-Visa approval and the QR code. Online registration started at the four checkpoints above, and the government planned to extend it to every international checkpoint. Check the immigration site for your border post before you travel.
Leaving Laos
Register your departure the same way, within three days before you leave, choosing the checkpoint you will exit through and your last address in Laos.
Getting around by train
The Laos-China Railway runs from Vientiane north through Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang to Boten on the Chinese border, with international trains continuing to Kunming. Book in the official LCR Ticket app, and carry your passport: you need it to buy a ticket and to board. Stations sit a few kilometres outside the towns, so allow time to reach them.
Respect and safety
- Cover shoulders and knees at temples, and take your shoes off before going inside.
- Watch the morning alms giving quietly, from the side of the street, without flash.
- Stay on marked paths in the countryside: unexploded ordnance remains in parts of Laos.
- Wear a helmet on a motorbike and carry travel insurance.
Plan the rest with our Travel Laos guide, or ask our assistant, which answers in seven languages.