Laos work visa (LA-B2)

The E-B2 expert visa is issued to experts and staff of non-governmental organisations approved to work in Laos, and to experts and technicians employed by, or contracted to, the Government, private companies or international organisations, together with their family members. Experts on intergovernmental cooperation projects, UN staff and volunteers on grant-aid projects fall under the separate C-B1 courtesy visa.

The employing entity must be legally incorporated under Lao law and must have obtained the labour quota required for foreign workers, together with a permit to import foreign labour. The worker must have an employment contract with the enterprise and must obtain, in this order, a single-entry visa, a work permit and a stay permit from the competent ministries. The visa is refused only if the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare or the Ministry of Public Security rejects the work or stay permit.

The employer submits a request letter in the prescribed form. You receive a first single-entry visa, used to apply for the work permit and stay permit, and then a multiple-entry LA-B2 visa. The authority reported a review time of up to three working days for each visa, about six working days in total. The visa is valid for three, six or twelve months according to the term of your employment contract, and is renewed on the same basis.

The Department of Immigration lists the requirements for working in Laos: a work permit card issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, the labour import permit and quota, and a stay permit card issued by the department in charge of foreigner control. Once you hold the stay permit and work permit cards, carry them with your passport whenever you leave or enter Laos and show them to the immigration officer. Whether you can re-enter depends on whether your visa is single or multiple entry.