No visa needed

Do citizens of Vietnam need a visa for Laos?

Citizens of Vietnam 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 Vietnam: the passport opens 24 countries visa-free; Hanoi — Vientiane: ≈ 480 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 Vietnam passport?

Yes, citizens of Vietnam 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 Vietnam passport you can visit 24 countries visa-free, 23 with a visa on arrival and 56 with an e-visa; 95 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the Vietnam passport ranks 161st of 199.
Vietnam passport: visa-free access to 24 countries; Laos passport: 20.
Citizens of Vietnam and Laos can travel together visa-free to 16 countries, for example: Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Mongolia, Indonesia, Micronesia, Seychelles, Palestine, Rwanda, Haiti, and Dominica.
Vietnam and Laos share a border, so you can also travel overland.
Citizens of Laos, in turn, don’t need a visa for Vietnam. Vietnam visa for citizens of Laos

Travelling to Laos: good to know

Hanoi — Vientiane: about 480 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 Vietnam.