Laos is easier to reach than it was a few years ago: a cross-border railway from China and an online entry process. A few practical steps make a short business trip go smoothly.
Entry: visa and the arrival card
- Check which visa fits your trip. Visa-free entry for ASEAN citizens and the e-Visa are built for short visits; for work, investment or study, see the Working, investing and studying in Laos section of the Department of Immigration's services, or ask the Lao embassy that serves your country.
- Register on the Lao Digital Immigration Form within three days before you arrive, choosing Business as the purpose of entry, and again before you leave.
- If plans run long, the immigration service says extensions must be requested before your permitted stay expires, are limited to two per arrival, and are not available to visa-exempt entries.
Plan around the calendar
Public holidays close government offices and many businesses. The big ones are Pi Mai Lao (14 to 16 April) and Lao National Day (2 December), and lunar festivals such as the end of Buddhist Lent and the That Luang Festival in Vientiane move each year. Our What's on in Laos list shows the next dates.
Getting between cities
The Laos-China Railway links Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang and the Chinese border at Boten, which makes a day trip between Vientiane and Luang Prabang realistic. Book in the LCR Ticket app and carry your passport. The Friendship Bridges connect Laos with Thailand by road.
Reaching people once you are there
At the start of 2025 there were 4.97 million internet users in Laos, 63.6 percent of the population, almost all of them on phones. Expect to arrange meetings and follow-ups on messaging apps, and bring materials in Lao as well as English: a Lao version written by a native speaker builds more trust than a translation. We set out how in Laos online and Bilingual by design.
If your visit is about launching a website, an app or a campaign in Laos, talk to us before you travel and we can plan the meetings around it.