Four countries, four different systems
What each of the four requires, what it costs, where to apply, and the traps: the Lao eVisa that is not valid overland from Vietnam, and the Thai arrival card that must be filed in a 72-hour window.
The short version
| Country | Most Western passports | Cost | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnam | Visa-free 45 days for many European passports, otherwise eVisa | USD 25 single / USD 50 multiple | The official government e-visa portal |
| Laos | eVisa or visa on arrival | USD 35 - 50 by nationality | laoevisa.gov.la |
| Cambodia | eVisa or visa on arrival | USD 30 | evisa.gov.kh |
| Thailand | Visa-free 60 days for 93 nationalities, plus a compulsory arrival card | Free | tdac.immigration.go.th |
Every one of these countries has a large industry of look-alike sites charging two to three times the government fee for the same document. Cambodia is the worst: sites charging USD 60 to 90 for a USD 30 eVisa are the most common travel scam in the country. If a site is not on the list above, it is not the government.
Vietnam
Most European passports — the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic and a number of others — enter visa-free for 45 days, as do Japan and South Korea. That is comfortably more than any trip on this site needs.
Everyone else uses the e-visa: USD 25 for single entry, USD 50 for multiple, valid for up to 90 days, three to five working days to process, and available to citizens of every country since 2023. It is valid at 42 ports of entry including thirteen airports, sixteen land crossings and ten seaports, which covers Moc Bai, Lao Bao and the river port at Vinh Xuong.
If your route leaves Vietnam and comes back — some multi-country itineraries do — you need the multiple-entry version, and this is the single most common visa mistake we see. Check the shape of your route before you apply.
Laos
The eVisa costs between USD 35 and USD 50 depending on your nationality and takes about three working days. It is valid at nine ports and nine only: Wattay airport in Vientiane, Luang Prabang airport, Pakse airport, Friendship Bridges I, II and IV, the Boten road checkpoint, Boten railway station and Khamsavath railway station.
That list contains no crossing from Vietnam. Of the four Vietnam–Laos land borders, only Dansavanh–Lao Bao issues a visa on arrival; the other three require a Lao tourist visa obtained from an embassy before you travel. An eVisa printout will not get you in at Cau Treo, Nam Can or Bo Y.
Visa on arrival at Lao Bao costs the same USD 35 to 50 and needs two passport photographs and clean US dollar notes. Lao embassies in Vietnam issue tourist visas the same day for USD 40 to 50 if you are crossing elsewhere.
Cambodia
The eVisa is USD 30 plus a small processing charge, takes three working days, and comes from evisa.gov.kh. It is valid at the international airports and at the Bavet, Cham Yeam and Poipet land crossings — though the last two are on the closed Thai border and therefore academic at the moment. It is also accepted at the river post at Kaam Samnor.
Visa on arrival is also USD 30 at the airports and at open land borders. Bring a passport photograph and clean notes.
The look-alike site problem is worse here than anywhere else in the region. If the domain does not end in gov.kh, it is a reseller.
Thailand
93 nationalities enter visa-free for 60 days, including the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the EU and Schengen states, Japan and South Korea. It can be extended once by 30 days at any immigration office for 1,900 baht.
Thailand's cabinet approved reducing the visa exemption from 60 days to 30 in May 2026. As of late August 2026 the change had not been published in the Royal Gazette and 60 days was still being stamped. We confirm the position that applies to your dates before you travel.
Separately, and this catches a great many people: every foreign national must file the Thailand Digital Arrival Card for every entry, including entries overland from Laos and re-entries after a border run. It is free, it takes five minutes, and the submission window opens exactly 72 hours before arrival — you cannot do it a month in advance. File at tdac.immigration.go.th and nowhere else.
The rules that catch people out, in order
- The Lao eVisa at a Vietnamese land border. Not valid, at any of the four, except that Lao Bao issues on arrival instead. This is the big one.
- The Thai arrival card window. 72 hours before arrival, not before, and required even when you walk across a bridge from Laos.
- Single-entry Vietnam e-visas on a route that re-enters Vietnam. Check the shape of your itinerary against the visa you bought.
- Six months of passport validity. All four countries require it, counted from arrival, and it is checked at check-in as well as at the border.
- Torn or marked US dollars. Refused at Lao and Cambodian counters. Bring clean notes.
- Reseller sites. Two to three times the fee for the same document, and occasionally for no document at all.
What we do about it
Once your itinerary is fixed, we send a visa checklist written for your specific passport and your specific border crossings, with the official application links, the fees, the timing and the order to do them in. It is not generic; a route entering Laos by air needs different paperwork from one entering at Lao Bao.
We do not apply on your behalf and we do not charge a handling fee, because for these four countries the process is straightforward and adding a middleman would just add cost. What we do is make sure you are applying for the right thing.
If a visa is refused and it makes the trip impossible more than 30 days out, we treat it under the cancellation terms and refund everything not already committed. See how to book.
Questions travellers ask most
How far ahead should I apply?
Four to six weeks. All three eVisas process in three to five working days, but applying early leaves room to fix a rejected photograph or a mistyped passport number without a courier.
The Thai arrival card is the exception: it can only be filed inside the 72 hours before you arrive.
Do I need visas for all four countries even in transit?
If you leave the airport, yes. Airside transit does not require entry for most nationalities, but every itinerary on this site enters each country properly.
What if my passport is nearly full?
Get a new one. Four countries means up to eight stamps plus visa pages, and several land crossings will refuse entry without two blank facing pages.
Can I get a Cambodian visa at the Thai border?
There is no Thai land border to get one at. Every crossing has been closed since June 2025. Arriving by air, visa on arrival at Siem Reap or Phnom Penh is USD 30 and straightforward.
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