US Embassy No Longer Issuing Visas For Lao Citizens: Consular Dept

Source: Vientiane Times

The Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued an official notice to inform the general public that the US government has suspended the issuance of visas to Lao citizens.

According to the notice, distributed to Lao media on June 19, the Consular Department informed the general public it had received an official notification from the US Embassy to the Lao PDR in Vientiane on April 6 that the embassy had discontinued issuing visas to Lao citizens, who were not officials, from April 1.

The visa suspension will affect those planning to travel to the US for leisure, family visits, training, study, work, and exchange programmes. Lao citizens wanting to meet up with their fiance or spouse are also unable to obtain a US visa, according to the Consular Department.

However, the Consular Department noted that officials who want to travel to the US for work under the multilateral framework and UN system and Lao diplomatic mission in the US would still be able to apply for a visa.

The Consular Department said the reasons underpinning the US government’s decision to discontinue the issuance of visas for Lao citizens was due to the inability of the Lao government to respond to the demand of the US government to accept the return of criminals, who claimed to be Lao nationals.