No visa needed

Do citizens of Thailand need a visa for Laos?

Citizens of Thailand don’t need a visa for Laos and can stay up to 30 days. You need a valid passport; border officers may ask for a return ticket and accommodation. For a longer stay you need a visa or an extension.

For citizens of Thailand: the passport opens 41 countries visa-free; Bangkok — Vientiane: ≈ 520 km, about 1 hour of flying.

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

At a glance

No visa needed

Stay: 30 days

Can I travel to Laos without a visa on a Thailand passport?

Yes, citizens of Thailand don’t need a visa for Laos for up to 30 days. A valid passport is enough.

Laos visa rules at a glance

With a Thailand passport you can visit 41 countries visa-free, 33 with a visa on arrival and 43 with an e-visa; 81 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the Thailand passport ranks 121st of 199.
Thailand passport: visa-free access to 41 countries; Laos passport: 20.
Citizens of Thailand and Laos can travel together visa-free to 17 countries, for example: Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia, Mongolia, Seychelles, Micronesia, Palestine, Russia, Dominica, and Haiti.
Thailand and Laos share a border, so you can also travel overland.
Citizens of Laos, in turn, don’t need a visa for Thailand. Thailand visa for citizens of Laos

Travelling to Laos: good to know

Bangkok — Vientiane: about 520 km in a straight line; a direct flight takes roughly 1 hour.
No time difference with your country’s capital.
Local currency: Laotian Kip.
Languages: Lao.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ LAK 22,259.
Laos is the 1st closest of 197 destinations open to citizens of Thailand.