Laos eases restrictions, criteria announced for entry and exit

VIENTIANE, May 11, 2020, Vientiane Times. All people entering Laos will have to undergo a health check, be tested for Covid-19 and be placed in quarantine for 14 days, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said, Vientiane Times reported.

Travellers will be quarantined in hotels or centres arranged by authorities, the ministry said in its announcement No 00001342 issued on May 7. This is the latest notification on immigration.

Those quarantined in hotels will be responsible for expenses, such as hotel fees, meals and service charges.

After the 14-day quarantine, those with no symptoms will be issued health certificates by health officials and this will enable them to go home and to work.

Those entering Laos with flu or Covid-19-like symptoms will be brought to and isolated in hospitals and have their samples tested for Covid-19.

To enter Laos, travellers need to submit an application prior their entry, giving details of the precise date and port of entry and vehicles they are travelling in.

Travellers are also required to identify countries they are going to transit on their way and give reasons for their entry into Laos.

The latest notification came as the government eased lockdown measures imposed on April 1, which permitted people to cross the border only for essential activities, such as the transport of goods.

Applications for entry under the new notification have to be submitted to the ministry’s taskforce committee via relevant sectors.

After being granted permission for entry, a person who does not have an entry visa needs to apply for it from the Lao embassy or consulate in the country from which he or she submitted the application. Those having a valid entry visa issued in the past can use that visa.

To enter Laos, the applicant must be certified as not having Covid-19 and the test certificate must be issued no longer than 72 hours earlier by a reliable health organisation.

Lao nationals in foreign countries wanting to return home need to register with the Lao embassy or consulate in the country where they are living.

Foreigners whose embassies are based in Vientiane and wanting to exit Laos, need to register their purpose for travel with their embassies. In this regard, the embassies are required to submit proposal letters to the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the applicant’s name, passport number, precise time and port of exit and vehicles the foreigners are going to use.

Lao nationals wanting to travel abroad for essential reasons can do so if permitted by authorities in the destination country.

By Souksakhone Vaenkeo