Appropriate-Bar5944

The Laos immigration website is down for me, and my flight is tomorrow so I need to find out ASAP. Someone just told me today that you need to bring an "approval letter" even for visa-on-arrival at airports. Is that true? (I am a U.S. Tourist coming from Vietnam)

Anyone gone to Laos recently who can verify? Thanks.

If so, what even is it? How do I go about getting it (without doing an eVisa, as I assume that to be totally separate stuff from VOA). How long will it take to get? Will I get turned away at the airport tomorrow for not having one?

Nearing the end of my 3 month tourist visa in Vietnam. Planning on exiting vietnam, and returning again on a new tourist visa.

My question is whether it is safe for me to put in the application for the new tourist evisa while my current tourist evisa is still in effect and not expired yet. Or, do I need to wait until the day after my visa expires, then submit a new evisa application (which will take 7 days, forcing me to spend a week in another country while I wait to return).

My worry is that, if my visa expires on the 25th, and I submit a new visa application today (17th) designated to begin on the 26th, the application will be automatically rejected as an obvious visa run attempt.

Ideally, I want to apply for the new visa right now in advance, so I can leave and come back the same day when I have to.

Any experience or sources?