Visa on arrival

Laos visa for citizens of South Africa

Citizens of South Africa get a Laos visa on arrival at passport control. You don’t apply in advance, but border officers check your passport, return ticket and accommodation. Visago checks your documents before you travel. It costs $19.

For citizens of South Africa: the passport opens 60 countries visa-free; Pretoria — Vientiane: ≈ 9,400 km, about 12.5 hours of flying.

Checked by visa analyst Albert Brown, 13 years of experience · September 26, 2026

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Can I travel to Laos without a visa on a South Africa passport?

You don’t need to apply in advance: citizens of South Africa get the visa on arrival. To avoid problems at the border, we check your documents for $19.

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Laos visa rules at a glance

With a South Africa passport you can visit 60 countries visa-free, 29 with a visa on arrival and 39 with an e-visa; 70 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the South Africa passport ranks 96th of 199.
South Africa passport: visa-free access to 60 countries; Laos passport: 20.
Citizens of South Africa and Laos can travel together visa-free to 14 countries, for example: Zambia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Palestine, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Philippines, Ecuador, Haiti, and Micronesia.
Citizens of Laos, in turn, need an embassy visa to travel to South Africa. South Africa visa for citizens of Laos

Travelling to Laos: good to know

Pretoria — Vientiane: about 9,400 km in a straight line; a direct flight takes roughly 12.5 hours.
Time difference with your country’s capital: +5 hours.
Local time: Pretoria 12:00 — Vientiane 17:00.
Local currency: Laotian Kip.
Languages: Lao.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ LAK 22,259.
Laos is the 135th closest of 197 destinations open to citizens of South Africa.