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VISA SERVICE & SERVICE OF STAY PERMIT CARD

Foreign Affairs Sector has the roles and responsibilities in approving entry visa to Lao PDR and multiple entry-exit visas through Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Visa Service
Service of stay permit card

Entry-Exit visa of Lao PDR consists of 13 types.

  • 01

    Diplomatic visa (D – A1)
  • 02

    Official visa (S – A2)
  • 03

    Courtesy visa (C – B1)
  • 04

    Tourist visa (T – B3)
  • 05

    Short-term visa (NI – B3)
  • 06

    Long-term visa (I – B3)
  • 07

    Permanent visa (P- B3)
  • 08

    Expert visa (E – B2)
  • 09

    Transit visa (TR – B3)
  • 10

    Student visa ( ST – B2)
  • 11

    Media visa (M – B2)
  • 12

    Business visa for foreign investors (NI – B2 or I – B2)
  • 13

    Technical visa,foreign employee (LA – B2)

Persons entitled to apply for business visa type NI – B2 and LA – B2 for entry into Lao PDR

Foreign investors

Stockholders

Director

Deputy Director

Technical officers and Family

Standards and terms for business visa applicants of NI-B2 or LA-B2 visa types into Lao PDR

  1. Be an investor legally approved by the Government of Lao PDR.
  2. For stockholders(must be enlisted in company’s regulations and certified by Investment Promotion Department or Planning and Investment Sector and Industry and Commerce Sector of provinces, municipal).
  3. Directors, deputy directors who have no shares or are not investors must arrange for the Work Permit Card from Skill Development and Employment Department first.
  4. For technical officers
    (Companies must propose their requirements to utilize foreign technical labour through Skill Development and Employment Department of Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare or through Labour Section of provinces, municipal).

Procedures and documentation for NI-B2, LA-B2 business visa application

1) Procedures of NI-B2business visa application for foreign investors and family

Investors who have been approved for investments in Lao PDR (possess Investment license or concession license and enterprise registration certificate) can submit the request to OSS, IPD, MPI. The Investment Promotion Department will prepare a document for Immigration and Emigration Department to check the Lao PDR entry-prohibited persons in the database.

In case the investors have submitted the application for investment to Planning and Investment (PI) Sectors and Industry and Commerce (IC) Sectors, the investors can also apply for a short stay visa while awaiting the consideration procedures of applying for the investment. If the consideration of the application for investment has not been completed, applying for further stay can also be done at Immigration and Emigration Department of Ministry of PS or if in provinces, applying for further stay can be submitted to the PS Headquarters of the province. The application for the visa can be submitted via Investment One-Stop Service Office of Planning and Investment Sector for the investors’ facilities.

2) Procedures of LA-B2 business visa application for foreign technicians.

Foreign technical officers who are posted in the projects or companies want to apply for LA-B2 visas must have the quota approval for foreign employee utilization, approval of foreign employee import, investment license, concession registration certificate or enterprise registration certificate attached to the proposal of Investment Promotion Department or company for submission to Immigration and Emigration Department to check through entry prohibited person name list of Lao PDR in the database.

After Immigration and Emigration Department has verified, the documents will be submitted to Consular Department of Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the approval of visa issuance at Consulate in foreign countries and at international check points in all over the country that visa-on-arrival unit exits, based on the ease of the project or company for their investors.

The OSS of IPD will then coordinate with IED of Ministry of PS and Consular Department of Ministry of Foreign Affairs for approval. The investors must advise in the proposal the location of their B2 visa collection, i.e.a Lao embassy or consulate in a foreign country or at a visa-on-arrival unit of an international checkpoint of Lao PDR, the Consular Department will then issue the approval of visa-on-arrival to the investors for hand carry to the visa-on-arrival unit to request the entry visa into Lao PDR. The process of approval takes 8 official working days from the date of OSS’s registry.

Procedures of document submission for NI-B2 business visas

3) Complementary documents comprise of:
  1. Proposal form of the company:1set;
  2. Copy of investment license, Concession registration certificate (colour copy):1 copy;
  3. Copy of enterprise registration certificate+tax registration certificate (colour copy):1 copy;
  4. Copy of passport:3 copies;

Procedures of business visa application with 3-month, 6-month and 1 year multiple entry-exit validity

1. Central and Vientiane Capital levels

Investors whose investment is approved at central or Vientiane Capital level must receive NI-B2 visa for entry into Lao PDR and the stay permit card from Foreigner Management Department of Ministry of PS before being able to submit the request via OSS of Investment Promotion Department of Ministry of PI for multiple entry-exit visa services of investors.

2. Local levels

Investors whose investment is approved at local levels (provinces) and must receive NI-B2 business visa for entry into Lao PDR and the stay permit card from foreigner control police section of Provincial Police Headquarters before being able to submit the request via OSS of provincial PI section to facilitate the investors, in case any province cannot provide technical service,the investors can submit their request via OSS of Investment Promotion Department of Ministry of PI or if the investors intend to submit their multiple entry-exit visa in person, they can submit directly to Consular Department of Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

1. Procedures of stay permit card (SP Card) application for foreign investors and family at central and Vientiane Capital levels.

After entering with NI-B2 business visa, the investors can apply the stay permit card via IOSSO, Investment Promotion Department, MPI to liaise with concerned sectors (in case the investors receive investment license, concession registration certificate or enterprise registration certificate at central or Vientiane Capital levels).

2. Procedures of stay permit card (SP Card) application for foreign investors and family at local levels (provinces).

In case the investors receive investment license, concession registration certificate or enterprise registration certificate at provincial levels, they can submit application via provincial PI sections to request the stay permit cards (SP Card) from foreigner control police sections of Provincial Public Security Headquarters.
In case the PI Section cannot provide service to request the stay permit card (SP Card), investors can submit their request directly to foreigner management police sections of Provincial Public Security Headquarters.

3. Complementary documents for stay permit and short-term multiple entry-exit visa with 3-month, 6-months and 1-year validity.
  1. Company’s proposal for registration, or stay permit card(SP Card) and visa;
  2. Visa used for entry into Lao PDR, if investors (for stockholders only) and family, must be NI-B2 business visa, for directors, deputy directors (none-stakeholders or none-investors) and technicians, must be LA-B2 business visa;
  3. Copy of foreign investment license or concession license;
  4. Copy of business operation license or factory establishment;
  5. Copy of enterprise registration certificate ( yearly );
  6. Copy of tax registration certificate ( yearly );
  7. Original passport and 4 photos of 3×4 size.
4. Conditions of stay permit card and long-term multiple entry-exit visas with 3-5 years validity.
  1. Investors holding with concession agreement with Government of Lao PDR from 10 years and above and family members can stay and receive multiple entry visa with 3-5 years validity, (foreign investors of both minor and major stockholders are entitled to the same privilege);
  2. Foreign directors, deputy directors and technicians will not be entitled to this privilege. They will need to follow the usual practice, i.e. no longer than 1 year and can be renewed year-by-year;
  3. Foreign investors in general activities that have not had a contract with the Government of Lao PDR, but received enterprise registration certificate from Industry and Commerce sectors will also not be entitled to this privilege. They will need to follow the usual practice, i.e. no longer than 1 year and can be renewed year-by-year;
  4. Foreign investors who have received an enterprise registration certificate from Industry and Commerce Sector, together with family members, stockholders, directors, deputy directors who have a purpose to apply for an approval of business visas shall prepare the determined printed form and submit to Investment One-Stop Service Office of Ministry of Planning and Investment only, as per Article 55 of the implemented decree of Investment Promotion Law;
  5. Investors with approved investment at local levels and contract with provinces will not receive this right also. They will need to follow the usual practice, i.e., not more than 1 year and year-by-year renewal;
  6. In case the investors have signed the Concession Agreement with the Government of Lao PDR for many years, and the agreement will soon expire, they will be approved for the issuance of Stay Permit Card and multiple-entry visa in accordance with the remaining contract duration and if there is a renewal of the contract duration, the consideration will be the same as in Item 1.
  7. Provincial Police Headquarters in all over the country will only issue Stay Permit Card to foreign investors whose investments have been approved at that provincial level, with stay validity from 6to 12 months.
5. Complementary documents required for requesting a Stay Permit Card and3 to 5 year long-term multiple entry-exit visa.
  1. Company’s proposal for the stay permit card and long-term visa;
  2. Visa used for entering into Lao PDR, if investors (stockholders only) and family, must be NI-B2 business visa, for directors, deputy directors (who have no shares or are not investors) and technical officers, must be LA-B2 business visa;
  3. Copy of foreign investment license or concession license;
  4. Concession Agreement with Government with 10 years duration and above;
  5. Copy of business operation license or factory establishment;
  6. Copy of enterprise registration certificate ( yearly );
  7. Copy of tax registration certificate (yearly );
  8. Original passport and 4 photos of 3X4 size;
6. Levies and service fees:
  • Visa application form 5,000 Kip;
  • Multiple-entry visa with 3 month validity 300,000 kip (37.5 US dollars)
  • Multiple-entry visa with 6 month validity 600,000 kip (75 US dollars)
  • Multiple-entry visa with 12 month validity 1,200,000 kip (150 US dollars)
  • And other service fees.

Remarks: Persons approved for investment (possess investment license, concession registration certificate and enterprise registration certificate) at local and central levels will receive Stay Permit Card(SP Card) and multiple-entry visa with validity of not more than 1 year if the investors do not have Concession Agreement with Government for 10 year or above.