Do Laos passport holders need a visa for Australia?

You need a valid passport or other travel document for this visa. If you plan to get a new passport, do this before you apply.

Log in or create an ImmiAccount. Attach documents. Submit family applications together. ​Pay the application fee. We will not process your application until you pay the fee.

We will let you know our decision on your visa application in writing. We will tell you: your visa grant number the date your visa starts your visa conditions Keep a copy of our decision with you when in Australia. If we refuse your visa we will let you know in writing. We will tell you why we refused your visa and whether you have a right to a review of the decision.

You will need to provide your biometrics at an Australian Visa Application Centre (AVAC) or an Australian Biometrics Collection Centre (ABCC) if you apply: for a visa that is part of the biometrics program from a country that is part of our biometrics program.

If you are outside Australia We will tell you if you need to attend an Australian Biometrics Collection Centre (ABCC) in person or if you are eligible to use the Australian Immi App to provide your biometrics. VFS Global is contracted by the department to operate ABCCs in a number of countries (see list of countries below). You must make an appointment to provide your biometrics at an ABCC (see VFS Global). You may need to travel to another country to attend an ABCC. ABCCs charge a service fee for biometrics collection. VFS Global does not answer questions about visa applications. Make sure you bring your valid travel document, such as the passport linked to your visa application, to your appointment, otherwise VFS will generally not be able to collect your biometrics.

The list below is correct as of October 2026. Further details on these centres can be found at VFS Global. Sometimes centres may close because of unexpected events, like natural disasters or major conflicts. Please check the opening hours and look for any notices about temporary closures or changes to opening hours. ​ Country Location/s Albania Tirana Algeria Algiers Bahrain Manama Bangladesh Chittagong Dhaka Sylhet Bhutan Thimphu Bosnia-Herzegovina Sarajevo Cambodia Phnom Penh Colombia Bogota Cali* Medellin Egypt Alexandria Cairo Ethiopia Addis Ababa Fiji Suva Lautoka France Paris Ghana Accra Greece Athens Hong Kong Hong Kong India Ahmedabad Bengaluru Chandigarh Chennai Hyderabad Jaipur Jalandhar Kochi Kolkata Lucknow Mumbai New Dehli Panaji* Puducherry* Pune Thiruvananthapuram Iran Tehran Iraq Baghdad Erbil Jordan Amman Kazakhstan Almaty Kenya Nairobi Kuwait Kuwait City Laos Vientiane Lebanon Beirut Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Mexico Mexico City Guadalajara* Monterrey Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Myanmar Yangon Nepal Kathmandu Pokhara* New Zealand Auckland Christchurch * Dunedin * Queenstown * Wellington Nigeria Lagos Abuja Oman Muscat Pakistan Islamabad Lahore Karachi Papua New Guinea Port Moresby Lae * Peru Lima Philippines Cebu Davao Manila Qatar Doha Russia Ekaterinburg Moscow Novosibirsk St Petersburg Rostov On Don Vladivostok Samoa Apia Saudi Arabia Jeddah Al-Khobar Riyadh Singapore Singapore Solomon Islands Honiara South Africa Cape Town Durban Johannesburg Pretoria Port Elizabeth South Korea Seoul Sri Lanka Colombo Jaffna Thailand Bangkok Chiang Mai Phuket Tonga Nuku'alofa Turkey Ankara Gaziantep Istanbul Uganda Kampala United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi Dubai Vanuatu Port Vila Vietnam Hanoi Ho Chi Minh City Danang Zimbabwe Harare

Visas subclasses included in the biometrics collection program as of March 2023: Permanent Family visas  100 – Partner  101 – Child  102 – Adoption  114 – Aged Dependent Relative  115 – Remaining Relative  116 – Carer  117 – Orphan Relative Visitors and Other Temporary visas  400 – Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist)  403 – Temporary Work (International Relations) – Government Agreement, Foreign Government, Domestic Worker (Diplomatic/Consular), and Privileges and Immunities streams  407 – Training  408 – Temporary Activity – Invited Participant, Australian Government endorsed event, exchange, sport, religious worker, domestic worker (executive), special program, entertainment activities and research activity types  462 – Work and Holiday  482 – Temporary Skill Shortage  491 – Skilled Work  494 – Skilled work (Employer Sponsored)  600 – Visitor Visa  602 – Medical Treatment  771 – Transit Temporary Family visas  300 – Prospective Marriage  309 – Partner (Provisional)  445 – Dependent Child  461 – New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship (Temporary)  870 – Sponsored Parent Student visas  500 – Student  590 – Student Guardian Other visas Applicants for the following subclasses of visa might be required by an officer to provide their personal identifiers after the visa application has been lodged with us:  200 – Refugee  201 – In-country Special Humanitarian  202 – Global Special Humanitarian  203 – Emergency Rescue  204 – Woman at Risk  785 – Temporary Protection  790 – Safe Haven Enterprise  866 – Protection Page 43 of 45

Attachment K - Countries included in offshore biometrics collection program If you are lodging a visa application in a country included in the biometrics program, regardless of nationality, you might need to provide your biometrics in relation to each visa application you lodge. Countries included in the offshore biometrics collection program as at March 2023: Afghanistan * Albania Algeria Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Bosnia and Herzegovina Cambodia Colombia Egypt Ethiopia Fiji France Ghana Greece Hong Kong Iran Iraq Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kuwait Lebanon Malaysia Mexico Myanmar Nepal New Zealand Nigeria Oman Pakistan Papua New Guinea Peru Philippines Qatar Republic of Korea Russian Federation Samoa Saudi Arabia Singapore Solomon Islands Somalia * South Africa Sri Lanka Thailand Tonga Turkey Uganda United Arab Emirates Vanuatu Vietnam Yemen * Zimbabwe *For these countries refer to neighbouring collection locations Page 44 of 45

To be eligible to use the app, clients must have previously provided their biometrics (facial image and fingerprints) to the Department and hold a valid passport.

If you have not previously provided biometrics and you have received a written request to provide your biometric identifier (digital facial image and fingerprint scan), you must attend one of the Australian Biometrics Collection Centres to submit your biometrics.

Visas and Immigration Australian Embassy Lao People's Democratic Republic Skip to main content Text size Toggle navigation About us About us Development Cooperation Our Partners Agricultural Research Job-Opportunity Small Grants Program Australia - Lao PDR Relationship Services for Australians Consular Services Australian Passports Notarial Services International Driving Permits Connecting with Australia Visas and Immigration Study in Australia Doing business with Australia Showcasing Australia About Australia Events Events News and media News and Media Ambassador's Speeches Contact us Contact us Visas and Immigration Visas and Immigration Visa and citizenship applications are managed by the Department of Home Affairs. Australian Embassy staff are unable to assist with visa or citizenship enquiries. Visa applications Visa applications lodged by people residing in Laos PDR are processed by the Department of Home Affairs. You should lodge your application online through ImmiAccount. You can also use ImmiAccount to make a payment, update your details or circumstances, upload supporting documents and track progress of your application. From 26 October 2026, visa applicants in Lao PDR are required to provide their biometric identifiers (digital facial image and fingerprint scan). You will be notified of this requirement when you lodge your visa application in ImmiAccount. To find your nearest Australian Biometrics Collection Centre, please visit Biometrics You may be required to undertake a health check as part of your visa application, depending on your personal circumstances, your location, the type of visa you are applying for and how long you plan to stay in Australia, and what you plan to do in Australia. If you are required to undertake a health examination you will be notified when you lodge your application. For more information on the health requirement please visit Health. IMPORTANT: You should apply for your visa well in advance of your intended travel date. Ensure all supporting documents required with your application are attached at lodgement of your application. Include English translations of supporting documents. Please check the current Global visa processing times and ensure you leave sufficient time for processing of your application. We recommend that you do not finalise your travel arrangements until you have a valid visa to travel to Australia. We will not be liable for any financial loss incurred by travellers whose visa application was finalised later than expected, or where an application is not successful. English translations should be endorsed by the translator with their full name, address, telephone number and details of their translation qualifications. Please also ensure you include a copy of the original document. Failure to provide an English translation of supporting documents may delay processing and result in the document not being considered as part of the visa application. There are things you can do to make sure that when you submit your visa application it is ‘decision ready’. This will help us process your application faster. If you’re applying for a visa to come to Australia, the following tips will help you get it right the first time for a quicker, smoother visa journey: Check twice, submit once. Enquiries Visa and citizenship applications are managed by the Department of Home Affairs. Australian Embassy staff are unable to assist with general visa or citizenship enquiries. The Department of Home Affairs website has the most up to date and comprehensive information on applying for visas and citizenship.  For information on Australian visas and citizenship, please visit the Home Affairs website. If you are having trouble locating information on the department’s website, the Digital Assistant may be able to help you find information on Australian visas, citizenship and border entry. Visit the Home Affairs website and click the Ask a question button to get started. Global Service Centre If you require additional information, you may telephone the Global Service Centre on +61 2 6196 0196, Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm your local time. International calls may be subject to charges imposed by your local carrier. You may wish to consider using a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) provider to avoid potentially high charges. Using an interpreter When you call the GSC, select option 6 to engage a Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) interpreter in your language. Option 6 can be selected straight after dialling the GSC number. Alternatively, a TIS interpreter can also be engaged directly via: TIS website: Search | Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) or Home Affairs website See: Family and friends helping with your application Compliments, complaints and suggestions Your feedback is valuable to the Department of Home Affairs. The department use your feedback to improve services and investigate and respond to any issues of concern. You can find more information on the department’s website at Compliments, complaints and suggestions. Allegations related to suspicious border activities If it doesn’t feel right, flag it anonymously with Border Watch. Border Watch is the single collection point for the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Border Force (ABF) for allegations related to suspicious border activities and is not limited to immigration and citizenship. One small observation could help stop a much larger border crime.  You can report suspicious immigration, customs and border related activity via the Border Watch Online Report. Contacting the processing office If you need to make an enquiry about a visa application and cannot find the information on the Home Affairs website you can contact the visa office responsible for Laos PDR here: Australian Immigration Enquiry Form. Australian Embassy Lao People's Democratic Republic Km 4, Thadeua Road, Watnak (P.O. Box 292) Vientiane, Lao PDR Telephone: +856 21 353800 Follow us: About us About us Development Cooperation Our Partners Agricultural Research Job-Opportunity Small Grants Program Australia - Lao PDR Relationship Services for Australians Consular Services Australian Passports Notarial Services International Driving Permits Connecting with Australia Visas and Immigration Study in Australia Doing business with Australia Showcasing Australia About Australia Events Events News and media News and Media Ambassador's Speeches Contact us Contact us External Websites Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Department of Home Affairs Visit Australia Austrade Prime Minister of Australia Minister for Foreign Affairs Minister for Trade and Tourism Minister for Pacific Island Affairs Minister for International Development Minister for Home Affairs Copyright Privacy Disclaimer Accessibility Freedom of information