Visa Run from Da Nang to Lao Bao: Costs, Buses and the Law (2026)

Nearly out of a 45-day unilateral exemption stay: no self-filed extension, so run to Lao Bao and re-enter for a fresh 45 days. Passport off the exemption lists: a new e-visa, filed online from outside Vietnam, up to 90 days. Staying several months: repeat runs, or a sponsor files an extension.

A visa run from Da Nang means a trip to Lao Bao, the land crossing into Laos, 250 km from Da Nang. If your country is on Vietnam’s unilateral exemption list (countries Vietnam exempts by its own decision) and your passport has 6 months left, the run is simple. You re-enter at the border for a fresh 45-day stay, with no filing.

Passports exempt under an international treaty get the stay that treaty sets, or 30 days if it sets none. Without an exemption you need a new e-visa, requested from outside Vietnam.

Go by the scheduled sleeper bus you book yourself, then add the visas on top. Return buses leave Lao Bao in the morning, so plan a night there.

Compare the buses at a glance

Add the Laos visa fee at the border on top, about US$35-40 depending on nationality, paid in cash. If your passport has no exemption, add a new Vietnam e-visa, US$25 single-entry or US$50 multiple-entry.

Does a run fit your deadline?

Without an exemption you need a visa to enter, and e-visas are for foreigners outside Vietnam, to be requested after exiting. If the e-visa is refused, the fee is not refunded. Official processing takes no more than 3 working days from a complete application and the fee, so plan several days in Laos before you re-enter.

Vien Hue and Danangbus — the scheduled buses you book yourself

The Vien Hue sleeper from Da Nang to Lao Bao costs VND 225,000 and leaves at 12:15, 14:00 and 16:00, while the return bus leaves Lao Bao at 6:00, 7:30 and 9:00. It drops passengers at Bun Cafe in Lao Bao; the distance from there to the border gate is not published.

Danangbus runs the same route, 250 km, about 5.5 hours, with departures at 6:00, 7:00, 8:00 and 12:00.

The drive to the border takes about 5.5 hours by bus.

Before you hand over money or a passport

Check the agency

The national tourism portal publishes a list of recognized and accredited travel agencies. If you book a visa-run agency instead of the bus, check its name against that list before you pay. A name missing from that list proves nothing on its own, so read the operator’s written terms too.

Do the e-visa yourself

You file the e-visa yourself, online, on the government portal. The official fee is US$25 for a single entry and US$50 for multiple entries.

The bigger risk is a look-alike site. The official portals are evisa.gov.vn and thithucdientu.gov.vn.

Look-alikes copy them and buy search ads, and such sites have no authority to issue visas. Report suspected fraud to the police. More in arriving at Da Nang airport.

If it goes wrong

Entry can be refused on the grounds in Article 21 of the law. The Da Nang Tourist Support Center takes visitor complaints, and its hotline is *8899 or 1022. 113 is the police line.

At the border

The Lao Bao gate on the Vietnam side opens at 6:00 and closes at 22:00.

Doing it yourself: every cost line

A do-it-yourself run is paid in separate parts:

• Scheduled sleeper bus Da Nang to Lao Bao: VND 225,000 each way (Vien Hue).
• Laos visa fee at the border: about US$35-40 depending on nationality, paid in cash.
• A new Vietnam e-visa, if your passport has no exemption: US$25 single-entry or US$50 multiple-entry, filed online from outside Vietnam, so add lodging in Laos for the days it takes.

Dansavan, the Lao side of the Lao Bao crossing, is not on the designated Lao e-visa port list.

Re-entering Vietnam: what the law requires

Article 20 of the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners, the entry-conditions article, no longer sets a waiting period between exit and re-entry. The old 30-day waiting period for unilateral-exemption entrants is gone, and the current text keeps only the 6-month passport rule.

General entry conditions are a passport plus a visa or an exemption, and no ground for refusal under Article 21 of the same law. A forged document or a false declaration made to obtain an entry, exit or residence document is one of those grounds.

A deportation bars re-entry for 3 years, and a forced-exit order (a lesser measure than deportation) for 6 months, each counted from the date the decision took effect.

If your country is on a unilateral exemption list, a fresh entry gives a 45-day stay, certified at the border with no filing. Your passport needs 6 months left. A passport exempt under a treaty gets the stay that treaty sets, or 30 days if it sets none. Which countries are on the unilateral exemption list is set by a Government decision lasting up to 5 years at a time.

Which gates take the run

For a land run, use Lao Bao. It sits in Quang Tri province, outside Da Nang city, 250 km away. The crossing is on the e-visa gate list in Resolution 127/NQ-CP (2023).

Two of Da Nang’s e-visa gates are Da Nang International Airport and the Da Nang seaport. Nam Giang, the land gate now inside Da Nang city, was added by Resolution 389/NQ-CP in December 2025, together with Ky Ha seaport and Chu Lai International Airport.

e-Visas are issued to citizens of every country and territory, and a new e-visa is valid for up to 90 days. A new e-visa costs US$25 for a single entry or US$50 for multiple entries, and the traveller applies for it online. The full country lists are in Vietnam visa exemption countries in 2026. Eligibility and the fee schedule are in Vietnam e-visa: eligibility, cost and how long it lasts.

Extending instead of leaving

Staying put means an extension, and the law puts the filing on the inviting or sponsoring organisation or individual, never on the foreigner. Without a sponsor that route is closed.

The government fee is US$10, processing takes no more than 5 working days from a complete dossier, and the dossier can be filed in person, online or by post.

If you hold an e-visa, you may be eligible to apply for a new visa in Vietnam if an organisation or individual in Vietnam invites or guarantees you. The documents are in how to extend a visa in Da Nang.

Overstaying instead brings fines, and the fine bands are in Vietnam visa overstay fines.

Still open: whether frequent back-to-back entries draw extra scrutiny, and whether Nam Giang runs routine e-visa arrivals — Da Nang immigration office.

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Not confirmed: Whether frequent back-to-back entries draw extra scrutiny at the border. Whether a Laos e-visa is accepted at Lao Bao: the official Lao e-visa site's port list omits Lao Bao.

General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.

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