Visas
available at Attapeu checkpoint
Visas are now available
on arrival at the Phoukeua international border
checkpoint, which is located in
Attapeu province at
the border of Laos and Vietnam.
Ministry of Foreign
Affairs' Consulate Department technical official, Mr
Daophet Chanthalasin, yesterday said promoting the
tourism industry was one reason for the change.
Many tourists visiting
southern Vietnam wanted to visit Laos by entering
the country at the Phoukeua checkpoint, but were
turned away because they could not obtain visas
there.
Phoukeua became an
international border checkpoint in January this year
and is located close to where Laos , Vietnam and
Cambodia meet. Mr Daophet said the three countries
were developing an economic triangle, and the visa
changes could help promote trade cooperation.
Visas on arrival in
Laos for the citizens of certain countries were
first available in 1990 at Wattay International
Airport and then in 1994 at the
Lao-Thai Friendship
Bridge between Vientiane and Nong Khai.
“Making visas available
on arrival was initially aimed at facilitating
visits of delegations between Laos and its
neighbours, but now it also aims to boost tourism,”
Mr Daophet said. There are now 19 international
border checkpoints in Laos , but visas on arrival
are only available at 16 of them, according to the
Consulate Department. You can not obtain visas on
arrival at checkpoints in Oudomxay, Saravan and
Xekong provinces.
Oudomxay authorities
have asked the government to allow visas on arrival
in their province.
But Mr Daophet said
facilities in that location were below required
standards, because there was not a suitable supply
of water or electricity, and there were no offices
for officials.
“Before we arrange to
provide visas on arrival, we have to ensure there is
enough demand and there are between 100 and 200
people getting the visas each month,” he said.
“Otherwise, it will
waste time and money.”
Mr Daophet said Saravan
and Xekong provinces also wanted to offer visas on
arrival, but they did not meet the required
standards either.
More than 100,000 visas
on arrival are issued to tourists in Laos every
year.
The majority of these
are issued at Wattay International Airport , the
Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge between Vientiane and
Nong Khai, and the Vangtao border checkpoint,
located in Champassak province on the border of Laos
and Thailand .
The government
recognizes three types of border checkpoint in Laos
.
An international
checkpoint can be used by Lao citizens and citizens
of all other countries.
A local checkpoint can
be used only by the citizens of two neighbouring
countries.
A customary checkpoint
is used by people living in the neighbouring
provinces of two countries.
Laos has more than 100
customary checkpoints. As more people start to use
these checkpoints, they will be developed into local
and then international checkpoints.
