Laos NI-B2 Investor Visa: Requirements, Process and What to Expect

The NI-B2 is an entry visa for approved foreign investors and stockholders in Laos. Longer residence requires two further documents after entry, a Stay Permit Card and a multiple entry visa. The NI-B2 request goes through the relevant Investment One-Stop service office. Immigration and the consular department review the request before the visa is issued at the embassy, consulate, or visa on arrival.

Procedure overview of NI-B2 Investor Visa

1. Register the enterprise and obtain the investment and operating documents required for the business type.
2. Submit the NI-B2 request through the relevant Investment One-Stop Service Office.
3. Collect the approved visa at the named Lao embassy, consulate, or visa on arrival unit and enter Laos.
4. Apply for the Stay Permit Card through the central or provincial office responsible for the investment.
5. Apply for a multiple entry visa with 3, 6, or 12 months validity.
6. Renew the stay documents when required. General business investors normally receive no more than 1 year at a time.

Official Lao documents use both NI-B2 and I-B2 for investor business visas but does not explain the distinction in its public english guidance. This guide uses NI-B2 because that is the code most often used in the current One-Stop service procedure. Other categories in Laos's long-term stay system include the LA-B2 work visa for foreign employees and the SP-B3 spouse visa for foreigners married to Lao citizens.

Who Qualifies for the NI-B2

Eligibility depends on the applicant's approved investment and recorded role in the Lao enterprise.

The NI-B2 is open to the following applicants.

• Foreign investors legally approved by the Lao government.
• Major or minor stockholders listed in the company's regulations and certified by the Investment Promotion Department or the relevant provincial planning, investment, industry, and commerce authorities.
• Directors and deputy directors who are also investors or stockholders in the enterprise.

A director or deputy director who has no shares and is not an investor must first obtain a Work Permit Card through the Skill Development and Employment Department. That person uses the LA-B2 rather than the NI-B2.

Foreign technical officers also use the LA-B2. The company must first obtain approval for its foreign labour quota and the import of the foreign worker.

The long stay process covered in this guide requires an approved investment or stockholding. Foreign employees use the LA-B2. A person who only wants to visit Laos before an investment is approved follows a separate short stay process.

The Three Documents Behind a Long-Stay Investor Status

The long stay process covered here uses three separate documents.

The Investment One-Stop Service Office coordinates with the Immigration and Emigration Department and the Consular Department. The Consular Department approves issuance at the location named in the investor's request.

The Process Step by Step

The investment must be legally approved before the NI-B2 request can proceed.

Stage 1 Enterprise Registration and Investment Approval

The 2024 Investment Promotion Law separates three business types.

The current public NI-B2 checklist still names an investment licence or concession registration certificate for the initial visa request. It does not explain how that wording applies to a general business outside the controlled list, which may not receive an investment licence under the 2024 law. The public sources do not say which document replaces the investment licence in this NI-B2 file.

• General business. The 2024 law does not set one minimum registered capital amount for every general business. The amount is governed by the Enterprise Law and any rules for the relevant sector.
• Capital import for general business. A foreign investor must import at least 30% of registered capital within 90 days of receiving the business operating licence or investment licence. The balance must be imported within 1 year unless another law provides otherwise. Each capital import must be certified by the Bank of the Lao PDR.
• Enterprise capital contributions. MOIC Decision No. 2025/IC generally requires full contribution within 1 year of enterprise registration. Noncash contributions cannot normally exceed 50% of registered capital. Foreign capital imports require Bank of the Lao PDR approval.
• Concession business. Articles 52 and 54 of the 2024 law set separate registered capital ratios and capital import periods based on the value of the concession project.

The current law does not set a 10% minimum foreign share for a joint investment. Article 27 defines joint investment but leaves the rights and obligations to the joint venture agreement, the enterprise's articles of association, and Lao law.

The company's regulations must clearly identify a stockholder seeking the NI-B2. The relevant investment or provincial authorities must certify that record.

Stage 2 Submit the NI-B2 Application

The investor submits the request through the relevant Investment One-Stop Service Office. The One-Stop Service coordinates the prohibited persons check with the Immigration and Emigration Department and sends the file to the Consular Department for visa approval.

The company proposal must state where the investor will collect the visa. The approved location may be a named Lao embassy or consulate abroad or an international checkpoint with a visa on arrival unit. The official procedure allows collection at any international checkpoint where such a unit exists. It does not rank Wattay, Luang Prabang, Pakse, or Friendship Bridge I as more reliable for NI-B2 collection.

The published approval period is 8 official working days from the date the One-Stop Service registers a complete request.

A Lao embassy or consulate issues the visa after approval. The official procedure does not present the embassy as a separate place to approve the full NI-B2 request.

Stage 3 Enter Laos and Apply for the Stay Permit Card

After entering with the NI-B2, the investor applies for the Stay Permit Card through the office responsible for the investment.

• Central or Vientiane Capital approval. The application may go through the Investment Promotion Department's One-Stop Service, which coordinates with the Foreigner Management Department of the Ministry of Public Security.
• Provincial approval. The application may go through the provincial Planning and Investment Section to the foreigner control police section of the Provincial Public Security Headquarters. The investor may apply directly to the police section if the provincial investment office cannot provide the service.

The current official English procedure does not publish a 15 day deadline after arrival or a 5 to 10 working day processing period for the Stay Permit Card. Those figures have therefore been removed from this guide.

General business investors without a qualifying central government concession agreement receive a Stay Permit Card for no more than 1 year and renew it yearly. Provincial Public Security Headquarters issue cards for 6 to 12 months. Investors with a central government concession agreement lasting at least 10 years, along with qualifying family members, may receive 3 to 5 years. The period cannot run beyond the remaining concession term. Directors, deputy directors, and technicians who are not qualifying investors do not receive this longer period.

The Lao Digital Immigration Form applies separately at checkpoints where it has been introduced. A current advisory says foreign passport holders and stateless persons using passports must register before entering or departing Laos. Registration must be completed within 3 days before travel. The advisory lists Wattay International Airport, Luang Prabang International Airport, Pakse International Airport, and Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge I. It also says expansion to all international checkpoints would begin in 2026, but the same page, updated on 23 July 2026, does not confirm that nationwide use has started.

Stage 4 Apply for the Multiple Entry-Exit Visa

The investor applies for the multiple entry visa after receiving the NI-B2 entry visa and Stay Permit Card. Standard validity periods are 3, 6, and 12 months.

Investors with a central government concession agreement lasting at least 10 years and qualifying family members may receive 3 to 5 years. General business investors and investors with provincial concession contracts normally receive no more than 1 year and renew yearly.

Article 64 of the 2024 law provides separate treatment for foreign developers and investors in a Special or Specific Economic Zone and their families. They may receive special consideration for a multiple entry visa valid for up to 10 years. The law also gives an initial 10 year multiple entry visa to an individual foreigner who owns fully paid real estate worth at least USD 100,000 in one of those zones.

Common Applicant Scenarios

Scenario 1. Investment approved and applicant outside Laos. The company submits the NI-B2 request through the relevant One-Stop Service. After approval, the applicant collects the visa at the embassy, consulate, or visa on arrival unit named in the request.

Scenario 2. Investment application still pending. Official guidance allows an investor with a pending investment application to request a short stay visa. It does not identify this temporary visa as B2.

Scenario 3. Applicant already in Laos. The official procedure does not publish one conversion rule covering every current visa. The NI-B2 approval names the collection location. If it names an embassy, consulate, or visa on arrival unit, the applicant must use that location to receive the investor entry visa.

Scenario 4. Applicant needs more time while approval is pending. Further stay may be requested from the Immigration and Emigration Department in Vientiane or the relevant Provincial Public Security Headquarters. The provincial Investment One-Stop Service may coordinate the request.

Scenario 5. Investment approved at provincial level. The provincial Planning and Investment Section handles the Stay Permit Card request with the Provincial Public Security Headquarters. The later multiple entry visa request may go through the provincial One-Stop Service. If that office cannot provide the service, the investor may use the central Investment Promotion Department's One-Stop Service or apply directly to the Consular Department.

Documents You Will Need

The official checklist separates the initial NI-B2 request from the later Stay Permit Card and multiple entry visa request.

Required for the NI-B2 application

• Company proposal form.
• Colour copy of the applicable investment licence or concession registration certificate.
• Colour copy of the Enterprise Registration Certificate and tax registration certificate.
• Three copies of the passport.

The public checklist does not provide a separate list for a general business outside the controlled list. The 2024 law gives that business an Enterprise Registration Certificate and any operating licence required by the relevant sector rather than a standard investment licence.

Conditional and supporting

The later Stay Permit Card and multiple entry visa request uses the following documents.

• Company proposal for the Stay Permit Card and visa.
• NI-B2 entry visa for the investor or stockholder and qualifying family members.
• Copy of the applicable foreign investment licence or concession document.
• Copy of the business operating licence or factory establishment document.
• Current Enterprise Registration Certificate.
• Current tax registration certificate.
• Original passport.
• Four photos measuring 3 by 4 centimetres.

The company regulations and their certification must show the applicant's stockholding when the applicant qualifies as a stockholder.

Translation and legalisation

The official English NI-B2 checklist does not state that every foreign document must be translated, notarised, and legalised by a Lao embassy. Concession applications and specific documents may have separate requirements, but a universal translation and legalisation package should not be presented as a standard NI-B2 rule.

Processing Time and Costs

The current official page gives the multiple entry visa fees in kip. Its USD conversions use an old exchange rate and are not reproduced here. The page also says other service fees apply but does not publish their amounts.

What Applicants Commonly Experience

The company record must show the applicant's role. Stockholders must be listed in the company regulations and certified by the relevant authority. A director without shares follows the LA-B2 work visa process.

A business change can affect investor status. Investor residence depends on an approved investment. The current sources reviewed do not state that closure, deregistration, or loss of a licence automatically cancels every immigration document at once. The responsible authorities determine whether the immigration documents remain valid.

This guide reflects the official Laos NI-B2 investor visa sources reviewed on 24 July 2026.

Key Sources

• Investment Promotion and Management Committee, Visa and Stay Permit Card, https://investlaos.gov.la/starting-a-business/one-stop-service/visa-stay-permit-card/
• Lao Investment Promotion Law amended in 2024, https://investlaos.gov.la/wp-content/uploads/formidable/22/New_IP_Law_Amended_2024_for_Web_No62-April-2024EN-1.pdf
• Department of Immigration of Lao PDR, https://www.immigration.gov.la/en/visas
• Embassy of India in Laos, Lao Digital Immigration Form advisory updated 23 July 2026, https://www.indianembassylaos.gov.in/section/home-page-ticker/lao-digital-immigration-form-ldif-to-streamline-border-procedure/
• VDB Loi, New MOIC Decision on Enterprise Capital Contributions, https://www.vdb-loi.com/laos_publication/new-moic-decision-on-enterprise-capital-contributions/