What are the lessons learned from applying for a Digital Nomad Visa in Laos?

DTV Lessons Learned – Vientiane

June 2026

I’m grateful for advice received in this group, and hope my lessons learned will help someone else. My situation is that I’ve been living in Thailand for 5 years, was a retirement visa the first 3 years, then had a non-immigrant B with work permit for the past 2 years. I continued to be a consultant that whole time, and wanted the DTV for the comfort of having a 5-year visa.

I flew to Udon Thani, then crossed the border overland. Probably the least expensive way to go, but be aware that immigration on the Laos side is outdoors so you have to wait in the heat, with very few places to sit down.

* Flying through BKK usually involves a 4-7 hour (or more) layover

* Only certain months have direct flights to Luang Prabang from Chiang Mai – check AirAsia and Laos Airlines first. Speed train from Luang Prabang to Vientiane is only an hour.

* There's another Thai embassy in Laos, but you'll still need to get to Vientiane for the interview.

Arrived on a Wed. eve, and submitted my online application.

* Need to show Lao visa and entry stamp

* Online app only allows 1 file upload per category, so combine documents into 1 PDF for each of these: proof of location (Lao visa & entry stamp, every page of your passport, and current passport photo); financial evidence (bank statements); and employment docs (contracts, invoices).

* Have print outs that match what you upload in case you’re called in for an interview.

* Make sure you have a very recent passport photo with a white background, and don’t smile – I lost 2 days trying to take a selfie and submit it.

Thurs. morning I went to pay the fee.

* Cash only – 10,000 TB

* There are TWO locations – be sure you go to the Embassy of Thailand (also known as Consular Section). If you choose Thailand Embassy, it will take you to the diplomatic affairs building, which you don’t want. They are not located at the same compound.

* Check for holidays! The Monday after I submitted and paid was a holiday, and therefore a 3-day weekend. That delayed my interview, and I ended up in Vientiane for 2 weeks.

Advice for the interview:

* Bring print outs of everything submitted – in my case, I printed extra of everything. I went back 2 or 3 years for bank statements and work contracts. I also printed out copies of my US tax returns, just to be on the safe side, to show I pay taxes in my home country.

* Bring copies of your apartment rental agreement, TM30 and last 90-day check-in receipt. They don’t ask for it online, but they seemed glad I had those with me.

* I highly recommend getting a Lao SIM card once you arrive. I bought an eSIM, and connection in general is not great in Vientiane. A local card will give you better connection, and this matters because you’ll be asked to log into a non-Thai bank account to show the balance. They were nice enough to log me into the embassy’s wifi, but I had spent 30 minutes having trouble logging in using phone data (even with a VPN on).

Lots of options in Vientiane for hotels under $35 USD, guesthouses are even cheaper (around $17), but food is expensive compared to Thailand.

* InDrive works in Laos, and is a good taxi option. You can also download Kokkok which gets you EV tuk tuks and small cars (called Sweety).

Even after 2 weeks in Vientiane (flights, hotels, food), it’s still cheaper spread out over 5 years than either the retirement or Non-Immigrant B visas I’ve had in the past. I’m glad I did it.