Blog

VISAS AND DOCUMENTATION

Tourist visas are only intended for tourists who are visiting Indonesia, NOT for expatriates intending to work and live for an extended period of time. Tourist visas will be needed by friends or family coming to visit you during your stay in Indonesia.

Visa On Arrival (VOA) system for citizens of 52 nations:

The cost of the 30-day (only) tourist visa is US$25/person and US$10/person for a 3-day visa.

Visitors from countries with visa-on-arrival facility will have to go to a special counter to have their passports stamped with the on-arrival visa before going to the immigration clearance desk. The VOA visa is NOT EXTENDABLE OR RENEWABLE. A visa issued on arrival can be extended only in extraordinary circumstances such as natural disasters, accident, or illness. If you want to stay in Indonesia longer than the 30 days you must exit and re-enter the country on a new tourist visa.

Visa purchasing takes 15-30 minutes per applicant, depending on the number of persons applying. Payment counters, a bank counter, and a money changer have been set up to process payments. Passport must be valid for at least six months from the date of arrival. Payment must be made on arrival. An onward or return trip ticket must be shown on arrival.

PASSPORT
Passports for your family members are issued by a passport office from your own country. While your government may allow children to follow on their mother’s passports, it is better to have separate passports for every family member, just in case separate travel is required.

In order to apply for any visa to Indonesia, your passport must be valid for at least six months. If your passport is nearing expiration, we recommend you renew it to the maximum time allowable before you begin procedures to apply for an Indonesian entry visa.

The visa on arrival facility is only available at the following international gateways:

Visa-free facility is granted to the citizens of 11 countries whose governments extend visa free facility to Indonesian nationals would continue to enjoy short visa-free stays. Included in the 11 countries and administrative districts that are granted the 30-day visa-free facility are:

Brunei Darussalam
Chile
Hongkong Special Administrative Region
Macau Special Administrative Region
Malaysia
Morocco
Peru
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam

Visitors with the visa-free facility will be able to proceed directly to the immigration clearance counter after deplaning. Passport must be valid for a minimum of six months from the date of arrival. Onward or return tickets must be shown on arrival.

Citizens of other countries not on the visa on arrival or visa free lists will be required to apply for a visa overseas (in their home country) before entering Indonesia. Citizens of any country wishing to stay more than 30 days must also apply for an appropriate visa (cultural visit or business) at their nearest Indonesian Embassy or Consulate before traveling to Indonesia.

Tour Agents are able to arrange express handling for groups at no additional charge by presenting the completed immigration cards, passports and applicable visa fee. Passengers who overstay their visa period for a short period of time can be processed immediately at the airport by paying US$ 25 for every day they overstayed their 30-day visa. Airlines that experience technical difficulties or delayed flights can apply for their passengers to be exempted from paying any overstay penalties.

The current tourist visa policy cuts the length of stay for tourist visas from the previous 60 days to 30 days. It is NO LONGER possible to stay in Indonesia more than 30 days on a tourist visa.

According to Indonesia’s bureaucracy, arriving tourists may be asked to produce the following documents:
1. Fill up the Visa Application Form
2. Attach the passport (must be valid for a minimum of six months from the date of arrival)
3. Recent Photograph (4 x 6 CM) at least 2 months old.
4. Roundtrip air ticket

Beware … of the 30-day counting trap! The way they immigration officials count the 30-day period is: you arrive on the 1st day with, for instance, a 30-day visa, and you must leave on the 30th day (not the 31st or the first of the next month, as you might think).

If you want to stay in Indonesia LONGER than 30 days, you must leave the country and re-enter on a new tourist visa. People commonly fly to Singapore or Timor for this. There is no stipulation on the time you must stay outside Indonesia, in fact, you can return the same day if you want and be issued a new visa upon your arrival in Indonesia.

CUSTOM REGULATIONS
You must have at least 6 (six) months validity of passport to enter Indonesia.
Visa On Arrival (VOA) can be obtain at the International Airports in major cities of Indonesia.
According to customs regulations, one adult is allowed to bring into Indonesia a maximum of one liter of alcoholic beverages, 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars or 1000 grams of tobacco, and reasonable amount of perfume.
Photographic, video and filming equipment radios, typewriters, and cars are admitted provide they are recorded in your passport on entry and taken out of the country on departure.
Narcotic, firearm and ammunition, TV set, and Chinese medicine are strictly prohibited. Fresh fruit, plants and animals must be passed by Quarantine Office.