Getting a Thailand Tourist Visa in Vientiane

Visitors from many countries (including the US, UK, Australia and most western European countries) can enter Thailand with no pre-approval on a 30 day tourist visa waiver. For those who wish to stay as a tourist for longer there are two options:

• Enter Thailand on a 30 day tourist visa waiver and extend it for another 30 days once in the country
• Get a 60 day Thailand tourist visa before entering Thailand (this can also be extended for a further 30 days)

To get a 60 day Thailand tourist visa you have to visit a Thai embassy, and the focus of this article is doing so in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

How long does it take to get a Thailand tourist visa in Vientiane?

If, like me, you last went through this process in Vientiane prior to February 2019, then it may surprise you to learn that you now need to make an appointment at the embassy. In the past you could go straight to the embassy from the border, join a (long) queue to apply for a visa, pick-up your passport the next day and go straight back to Thailand.

This is no longer the case and you should plan on at least two weeks to complete the entire process, with a minimum of three working days needed in Vientiane.

If you need it done faster than this, I believe in Savannakhet (southern Laos) you can still show up without an appointment and be approved in 24 hours. I haven't done this myself so cannot say with certainty.

Making an appointment

To get a Thailand tourist visa in Vientiane, the first step is to make an appointment at the consular section of the Thai embassy. You do this at thaivisavientiane.com.

Click Book your Appointment and you'll firstly have to click through a warning before agreeing to some terms and conditions. These can mostly be ignored, although the one worth noting is:

If you do not show for your scheduled appointment, there is a 30 day suspension rule for your account and if you cancel your appointment, we will impose a 10 day suspension for your account.

Ensuring that you show up at the embassy when you have Covid, your account is suspended if you renege on your appointment. As your account is linked to your passport number, there is no option of just creating a new account, so be sure that you can attend at your chosen appointment time.

Agreeing to the terms and conditions you'll be taken to a page titled Login to your Account. As you don't have an account yet, click the Sign Up Now link.

After agreeing that you won't input any inaccurate information, you'll be shown a form titled Sign Up For New Applicant. This form requires your first name, middle name, last name, email address, contact number, passport number and nationality. Enter these and click Sign Up.

If the sign-up is successful you'll see an alert that says:

Your new account is now registered

Please log-in to your email account and verify your registration by using the username and password sent to your registered email address.

When I signed-up, I waited for around 30 minutes and no such email ever appeared. In concluding there had been an error, I tried to sign-up again, and this was the point I learned that I was blocked from re-registering as my passport number had already been used.

What I instead had to do was to go back to the Login to your Account page and click the Forgot your password Click here link. This opens up a form to enter your email address and passport number. On submitting this form I did finally receive an email which included a password I could use to login with.

With that password, head back to the Login to your Account page, enter your email address, this password, and in the Security Code input just copy the code from the line above (or click Copy Code to enter it automatically). I've never seen such a futile security feature.

You should now be signed-into the app, at which point you'll see a list of available appointments, with unavailable days greyed-out.

At the time I did this on the 29th of December, the next available appointment was on the 5th of January, one week away. I've read online of people having to wait two weeks for the next appointment, hence why you should start the process way in advance of needing the visa.

Click Book Appointment on the available slot you desire. If successful you can now go to the My Appointment(s) section, where you will see the date and time of your appointment.

You will also receive an email confirming your appointment. This email will contain other information such as your queue number, which is largely useless but in theory denotes your timeslot at the embassy. My queue number of 30 meant I was supposed to show-up between 9:30am and 10am. On the day of my appointment I showed-up at 9:15am and no one cared, so I wouldn't pay much attention to it.

You will require this email in order to enter the embassy. Either printing it or showing it on your phone is sufficient.

The homepage of thaivisavientiane.com. Click 'Book your Appointment'.

Preparing for the appointment

I'd read conflicting information about whether I'd be able to print documents and exchange money at the embassy. Regardless, the less I have to do on the day the less stressful it is, so I decided I'd get as much as I could done the day before my appointment.

Required documents

The full list of officially required documents is as follows:

1. A completed application form
2. Two passport-sized photos, taken in the last 6 months
3. Your passport, valid for at least 6 months (it must have a blank page for the visa)
4. A photocopy of your passport's information page
5. A photocopy of your Laos visa
6. A photocopy of your Laos entry stamp
7. Three months of bank statements showing an average balance of 20,000 baht
8. Your travel booking going into Thailand
9. A travel booking out of Thailand (usually meaning an outbound flight)
10. Your travel itinerary while in Thailand (this can mean hotel bookings for your entire stay)

The list of actually required documents depends on the whim of the immigration official. Numbers 1 to 6 will be always be required. Numbers 7 to 10 are pot-luck.

Being asked for proof of travel into Thailand is unlikely, as being so close to the Thai border many people will just go by themselves without any advanced booking. The application form includes a Proposed Address in Thailand section, of which if you were to put somewhere near to the Laos border (Nong Khai or Udon Thani), then having advanced travel booked would be absurd.

In my various entries into Thailand over the years, I have never once had outbound travel booked. On the one occasion I was asked for it, I just said I planned on leaving by land and that was enough to satisfy the border official.

If you have an outbound flight booked then obviously bring a copy of your booking. If you don't then I'd suggest applying without one. I've always managed.

Come up with a valid explanation for why you don't have an outbound flight in case you get asked. For example, say that you're planning to travel by land to Malaysia. If that is unsuccessful then be prepared to buy a flight ticket.

It just has to be a flight from anywhere in Thailand, to anywhere outside Thailand, within 60 days of what you've written as your date of arrival in Thailand on your application form. You can almost always find a flight for less than 1,300 baht on Skyscanner.

Being asked to prove your entire travel itinerary within Thailand is unlikely. More common is they'll want to see evidence of your first accommodation. If you don't have anywhere booked yet be ready to jump on booking.com or Agoda. Many hotels offer refundable bookings so you can make a booking, print it out, and cancel right after, although beware that the address of the booking you print-out must match the Proposed Address in Thailand answer that you give on the application form.

Prior to this application I'd never been asked to prove my finances, but on this occasion I was. More on that below.

Gathering documents

If you arrive at the embassy without a completed application form you'll be given you one free of charge when you go in and there is a table with pens to complete it. It is not necessary to complete the application form before arriving at the embassy.

If you do want to print and complete it before going to the embassy then it can be downloaded from thaivisavientiane.com (the same site used to make the appointment) by clicking Download Application Form.

Downloading it from thaivisavientiane.com should ensure that you have the latest version, but as a backup you can download the form, correct at the time of writing, by clicking here.

There are many places around Vientiane to print documents and make copies, most of which can also take and print passport photographs. I went to Idea Copy Center, where you can print, photocopy and get passport photos. I just did three photocopies here was charged 2,000 kip. The woman working there was very friendly and spoke good English.

Idea Copy Center. Here you can do print-outs, make copies, and get passport photos.

Getting baht

Applying for a Thai visa in Vientiane costs 1,000 baht. You can only pay in baht; dollars are not accepted, kip is not accepted.

If you're coming to Vientiane from Thailand and you know in advance that you'll be doing a visa application then I strongly suggest bringing 1,000 baht with you.

Walking around Vientiane you see currency exchanges everywhere. As I found out the hard way, they only exchange from foreign currencies into kip, not the other way around. I went to nine different exchanges, including the cluster of Thai banks peculiarly in the middle of Vientiane, and at each I asked if I could exchange kip to baht. All of them said no, and none of them knew where I could do this.

The collective brilliance of Thailand requiring visa fees to be paid in baht, with Laos simultaneously not allowing exchange into baht really is something to behold.

I was about to give up but decided to try one more exchange that was showing up on Google Maps, where the most recent reviews mentioned that the exchange is no longer there, but there's a woman who sits nearby and approaches foreigners asking if they want to exchange cash.

I didn't really think that would be the most reliable service but I wandered down anyway, and sure enough right before I got to where this currency exchange used to be (and still is according to Google Maps), a woman saw me and shouted "exchange".

I wouldn't normally advise exchanging money with random people that approach you on the street, but the reviews of her all read positively, and I was kind of at the end of my rope by this point.

Already knowing that the official rate this day was 1,000 baht = 600,000 kip, I told her I needed 1,000 baht, and when she quoted me 660,000 kip, that didn't seem a bad deal. I agreed and she went through her bags, displaying all kinds of currencies in various amounts. She really does offer a service.

And that's how I ended up getting the 1,000 baht I needed for my application.

Just to the right of the gold pole, you can see a branch of Sacombank (click for map location). The gold pole marks the entrance to the car park, and consistently located at this entrance (I've walked past many times) is a woman who will exchange kip to baht. If you look closely in this picture, you can see her behind the silver car.

At the embassy

Getting to the embassy

Beware that you want to go to the consular section of the Thai embassy in Vientiane. This is on Rue Bourichane, and is a bit of a distance away from other Thai embassy services, so make sure to go to the right place.

Entering the embassy

As you approach the embassy you'll be hounded by people asking you if you need an application form. Ignore them. You get the application form for free from inside the embassy and they will try to charge you. This is the reason it says This form is free of charge in big, red writing at the top of the form.

If anyone asks you to pay for the form, you're speaking to the wrong person.

There is an unnecessarily big gate at the entrance to the embassy that will likely be closed. You need to go through the small pedestrian gate to the right of this and to the left of a blue sign. You needn't speak to anyone prior to going through this gate, so anyone who approaches you, ignore them.

Through this gate is a man in uniform sat at a table. The first thing he will ask to see is your appointment confirmation, meaning the email that you received earlier. Showing this on your phone screen is sufficient. He will check the details and will write your queue number on your application form. If you don't have an application form he will give you a blank one and will write your queue number on this. He will check your other documents and if all are in order he will wave you through.

I'd read that bags are not allowed in the embassy. This is false, there is no security check and bags are allowed into the embassy.

A sign at the entrance says 'No baggage allowed', but this presumably refers large items like suitcases and backpacks. I had a small rucksack and was allowed to take it in unhindered.

This is the embassy from the outside. You enter through the pedestrain gate between the big gate and the blue sign (don't look for the arrow, I added that). Ignore anyone who talks to you before you've gone through this gate.

Completing the application form

There are a couple of tables with pens on them to the right of the waiting area. You can complete the application form here if you haven't done so already. There are also some glue sticks here to affix your photos to the form.

As immigration forms go this one is pretty simple, but a couple of points to note:

For Proposed Address in Thailand, if you don't have anywhere booked yet then look-up a refundable hotel just across the border; perhaps in Nong Khai, and write the address of that. This will allow you to make a booking if the official asks for one, and to get it refunded later. It will also justify why you don't have any inbound travel booked, as Nong Khai is too close to need any.

The Date of Arrival in Thailand field is pretty meaningless because your visa will allow you to enter Thailand for up to three months after the date of application no matter what you enter here. Just make sure that if you have an outbound flight booked that it's not more than 60 days after this date.

For Travelling by, unless you already have a flight I'd recommend writing Bus. It's highly unlikely that an official will ask for proof of a bus ticket, especially if you're going somewhere close to the border like Nong Khai which is about six miles away.

For Duration of Stay in Thailand, if you don't have defined dates yet enter 60 days.

For Please indicate the type of visa requested, tick Tourist. For Purpose of visit enter Tourism, and for Number of entries requested tick Single (multiple entry visas are only permitted for people living in Laos).

Name and Contact of Guarantor in Thailand and Name and Contact of Guarantor in Lao PDR can be left blank.

As immigration forms go, the one you complete at the Thai embassy in Vientiane is pretty kind.

Submitting the application

So you might think that being assigned a queue number when making your appointment would mean that there's a queue system in place at the embassy. There's not, it's a free-for-all. There isn't even a ticket system of any kind once you're inside, people just sit on the front couple of rows of benches and slowly shuffle along as each person gets called up. This was all fairly civil for my appointment, but I have read some angry comments online about people from one particular country pushing in front of everyone and ignoring the fact there's a queue.

When I joined the queue there were around fifteen people in front of me. Initially only one official was processing applications, and as a couple of applicants took a long time, it was about 30 minutes until I got to the front. By now a second person was accepting applications so things were moving a bit quicker.

At this stage the documents I had were:

• A completed application form with two passport-sized photos attached
• Passport
• A photocopy of my passport's information page
• A photocopy of my Laos visa
• A photocopy of my Laos entry stamp

I went up and handed these over. The immigration official sat behind some protective glass rifled through the papers and said "bank statements?"

"I don't have these," I responded. Without saying another word he looked at me like I'd insulted his mother, and literally threw it all back at me. It hit me in the chest.

Welcome to the land of smiles!

As the required documents change on the mood of the immigration official, you can't blame me for trying my luck with only these. I asked the guy sitting at the desk at the entrance of the embassy where I could go and print a bank statement, and he directed me to go out and to the left.

About 20 yards down the road is a little sun-worn gazebo that houses a make-shift print shop. They can also take passport photos if you don't have any yet.

I also saw a guy who hadn't brought any Thai baht with him leave the embassy and come back with 1,000 baht about five minutes later, so there's somewhere nearby to change money too, although I'm not sure exactly where. That means that apart from your passport, you can obtain all of the documents that you need for your application, in or around the embassy, but be warned you'll have to pay for it.

A day prior to this I'd got three pages of my passport photocopied for 2,000 kip. Here I printed-off a seven-page bank statement and was charged 35,000 kip.

What I printed was a little over three months worth of statements for one of my UK savings accounts which has had plenty of money in it for a while.

I went back into the embassy and joined the queue again. Some others who were sent away for documents came back and pushed to the front of the queue and no one complained about this, but I thought it a bit unfair on the people waiting. My fear was I'd hand over my documents now including a bank statement, and I'd be told to go away and come back with something else.

Thankfully that didn't happen. With the bank statement, the documents were quickly accepted. I paid 1,000 baht and was given a receipt with my queue number written on it, telling me to come back on the 9th of January (two working days later) between 1:30pm and 4pm:

Visa must be collected on 09 Jan 2024 between 13:30 - 16:00 hours, otherwise it will be voided and returned to the holder.

Again encouraging applicants to enter the embassy no matter what infectious diseases they're carrying, the threat on your receipt is that they'll void your visa if you miss your collection window, which seems a little harsh.

To reiterate, the materials that were ultimately required for my application were:

• An application form
• Two passport-sized photos
• Passport
• A photocopy of my passport's information page
• A photocopy of my Laos visa
• A photocopy of my Laos entry stamp
• Three months of bank statements
• 1,000 baht

The materials that were not required were:

• A travel booking going into Thailand
• A travel booking out of Thailand
• A travel itinerary while in Thailand

In the embassy. An ode to a bygone era before appointments, all but the front couple of rows of benches sit unused. With no queue system in place, people sit in those first couple of rows and shuffle along as those before them get called-up.

Collecting your visa

I arrived at the embassy at around 1:35pm to collect my passport on the 9th. There were about twenty people in front of me in the queue but it moved incredibly quickly. It was no longer than three minutes until I was at the front.

You hand-over the receipt you were given when you submitted the application, and without even checking the details in the passport, they hand you the passport of the corresponding queue number (as well as a receipt for 1,000 baht).

This doesn't feel an entirely fool-proof system, so double-check that you have the right passport. All being well, it'll have a shiny new Thai tourist visa stuck inside.

The type of visa should say Tourist, the Valid from date should be the date that you applied, and the Valid until date should be three months after this (minus one day).

To clarify, this date range is not the dates that you are permitted to be in Thailand. The valid until date is the last day of which you can enter Thailand. No matter what date you enter, you will be permitted to stay in Thailand for 60 days.

All being well with your application you'll have a Thai visa in your passport that looks like this. You have until the 'Valid Until' date to enter Thailand.

Should I get a visa or enter Thailand on a visa waiver?

A visa waiver permits you to stay in Thailand for 30 days. It's free, and once in Thailand it can be extended for a further 30 days (for 1,900 baht).

A Thailand tourist visa permits you to stay in Thailand for 60 days. It costs 1,000 baht (in Vientiane), and once in Thailand it can be extended for a further 30 days (for 1,900 baht).

If you intend on being in Thailand for less than 30 days

Assuming you're from an eligible country, if you intend on being in Thailand for less than 30 days then enter on a visa waiver. Applying for a visa costs money and is a pain.

The only reason to get a pre-approved visa for a stay of less than 30 days is if you're worried about being rejected at the airport, and this is unlikely.

If you plan on being in Thailand for 30 to 60 days

Your choice here is to either get a 60-day visa before entering Thailand, or to enter Thailand on a 30-day visa waiver and extend it for 30 days.

Extensions within Thailand are a massive pain. You must apply at the immigration office of the province within which you're staying, and the requirements vary.

I've done such an extension in Chiang Mai and it took six hours. I needed a TM30 form, which details your current accommodation and is submitted by your hotel. As the elderly owner of the new hotel I was staying at was too tech illiterate to do this online, he had to come down to the embassy to do it in person, which took him all morning, just for me to be able to start my application.

I've also done the extension in Huahin and they had no such requirement. It took less than 20 minutes from entering immigration before I walked out with an extension stamp in my passport, and was so easy that when I next needed an extension, I specifically went back to Huahin for a week to do it.

I would say that if you're in Vientiane anyway, then the application process for a tourist visa is comparably easy compared to getting an extension whilst in Thailand, and it's 900 baht cheaper. So long as you have the time to wait for an appointment and be here for two working days while the visa is processed, it's the better option.

If you plan on being in Thailand for 60 to 90 days

Aside from leaving and re-entering Thailand, as a tourist your only option is to get a 60-day visa prior to entering Thailand, and to extend it for 30 days once in the country.