No visa needed

Do citizens of Laos need a visa for Vietnam?

Citizens of Laos don’t need a visa for Vietnam 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 Laos: the passport opens 20 countries visa-free; Vientiane — Hanoi: ≈ 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 Vietnam without a visa on a Laos passport?

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

Vietnam visa rules at a glance

With a Laos passport you can visit 20 countries visa-free, 21 with a visa on arrival and 58 with an e-visa; 99 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the Laos passport ranks 169th of 199.
Laos passport: visa-free access to 20 countries; Vietnam passport: 24.
Citizens of Laos and Vietnam can travel together visa-free to 16 countries, for example: Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia, Mongolia, Seychelles, Micronesia, Palestine, Rwanda, Haiti, and Dominica.
Laos and Vietnam share a border, so you can also travel overland.
Citizens of Vietnam, in turn, don’t need a visa for Laos. Laos visa for citizens of Vietnam

Travelling to Vietnam: good to know

Vientiane — Hanoi: about 480 km in a straight line; a direct flight takes roughly 1 hour.
No time difference with your country’s capital.
Local currency: Vietnamese Dong.
Languages: Vietnamese.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ ₫25,966.
Vietnam is the 1st closest of 197 destinations open to citizens of Laos.