Scandinavians Will Now Be Able to Visit Laos Without a VISA

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Map of Scandinavian Countries Exempt From VISAs to Laos
Map of Scandinavian Countries Exempt From VISAs to Laos

In an effort to promote tourism during the Visit Laos Year 2018, the Lao government will provide VISA exemptions for citizens of four Scandinavian countries: Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The visa waiver will take effect from 1 January and will cease at the end of December.

Travelers from the four countries wishing to visit Laos will be allowed a 15-day temporary stay, says MOFA (Foreign Affairs Ministry). The rationale for the initiative was based on the observation that an increasing number of Finnish, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian visitors had come to Laos in 2016, compared to the year before, while there had been an overall 10% decrease in the total number of tourists.

In total, it was estimated that over 17,000 people from the Scandinavian countries travelled to Laos in 2016, an increase from the 16,468 visitors who came to Laos in 2015.

In addition to the one-year visa exemption for citizens of Scandinavian countries, Laos has entered into bilateral visa exemption agreements (long-term) for ordinary passport holders from 11 countries, namely the other nine ASEAN countries, Mongolia and most recently, Russia.

Laos has also extended unilateral visa exemptions (long-term) to nationals from Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

On a side note, has anyone ever wondered which countries Lao nationals can visit without visas?

14 COMMENTS

  1. “On a side note, has anyone ever wondered which countries Lao nationals can visit without visas?”

    The key to this issue is in the hands of Laotian officials. As an immigration lawyer and consultant, I have some first hand experience how afraid the Laotian officials themselves are to let their citizens for example marry with foreign nationals, and follow their own spouse to abroad. So if the country itself practices these draconian measures towards its citizens; how can it expect other countries officials to give them any easier treatment??? Wake up Laos!

  2. n addition to the mainland Scandinavian countries of:

    Denmark (constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system)
    Norway (constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system)
    Sweden (constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system)
    The Nordic countries also consist of:

    Finland (parliamentary republic)
    Iceland (parliamentary republic)
    Åland Islands (an autonomous province of Finland since 1920)
    Faroe Islands (an autonomous country within the Danish Realm, self-governed since 1948)
    Greenland (an autonomous country within the Danish Realm, self-governed since 1979)
    Svalbard, which is under Norwegian sovereignty, is not considered part of Scandinavia as a cultural-historical region, but as a part of the Kingdom of Norway (since 1925) it is part of the Nordic countries (Norden).