Visit visa fee waived for former Lao citizens

The government has taken a new step in its policy to encourage people who were born in Laos but who have since become citizens of another country to visit their motherland.

Officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Lao Overseas Relations Department said on Friday the government has approved a visa fee exemption aimed at encouraging former Lao citizens to visit Laos on their holidays.

The notice states that former Lao citizens aged over 65 or under 15, or who are monks or disabled, receive further benefits in that they do not have to pay a for a 90 day visa at either a Lao embassy or on arrival in Laos.

Nor will these groups need to pay for a visa extension at immigration offices in Laos, as the government understands they do not work and earn money to the extent that most people do.A notice to this effect came into force earlier this year.

The notice also stated that former Lao nationals who obtain a visa at a Lao embassy or consulate do not have to pay a fee and will not be charged for any extension. However, those who get a 60 day visa on arrival must pay US$30, but need only pay US$1 per day to extend their visa compared to the standard rate of US$2.

Officials said this latest m ove to strengthen Laos’s overseas relations policy was instigated after the government saw the positives of granting visa fee exemptions to former Lao citizens returning for the SEA Games in 2009 and the 450th anniversary of Vientiane as the Lao capital in 2010.

Officials said the visa fee exemption is aimed not only at cutting travel costs and encouraging visits, but also at making those who were formerly Lao nationals feel more at home here by not being bound by the same immigration procedures as other tourists.

According to the Lao Overseas Relations Department, there are more than 500,000 former Lao nationals living in other countries, mostly in the US, France, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan. Most of them left Laos during the Cold War prior to 1991.

According to the Resolution of the 9th Party Congress, which took place in March, the Party considers such people part of the national family.The Party welcomes those who still have a sense of national pride and patriotism and want to return to Laos to use their intellect, physical skills and financial resources to develop their motherland.

The government is also reconsidering legislation concerning land use rights, and the elimination of marriage procedures between former nationals and Lao citizens. Officials said they expect the cabinet to approve a decree on these issues in the near future.

Source = laovoices