Visa-Free Entry

There are now 169 countries that have the visa-free facility based on Presidential Regulation Number 21 of 2016 signed on 2 March 2016. Previously the visa-free facility was given to 45 countries in June 2015 then in September 2015 the number of countries was increased to 90.

The Presidential Regulation Number 21 of 2016 states that visa-free visits are for 30 days and cannot be extended or converted to another kind of permit.

Visa-free visitors can enter and leave Indonesia through 124 Immigration posts on land, sea and air.

Foreigners with visa-free entry can carry out activities for tourism, family visits, social purposes, art and culture, government duties, to give talks and seminars, join international exhibitions, attend meetings in central or regional offices in Indonesia, and in transit to other countries.

If 30 days is not enough, note that Visa-Free period CANNOT be extended or converted into any other type of visa. If you want to stay longer than 30 days, you need a VISA ON ARRIVAL – VOA (only available upon your arrival). or a Visit Visa. BE AWARE of this extension limitation before you make your travel plans!

The purpose of the visa-free facility is intended to improve the economy in general and increase the number of overseas tourists.

With the 2016 regulation, the goverment intended to iron out a lot of the difficulties previously experienced when entry and exit were only through 9 ports, and where the purpose was only for tourism. They have also made it the same for all 169 countries including the original 15 countries that previously had more privileges than the later 75.

Passports must be valid for a minimum of six months from the date of arrival. Onward or return tickets must be shown on arrival. Additionally, APAC cardholders may be entitled to a free visa on arrival under the terms of their scheme.

CAUTION: carefully check the visa stamped in your passport to make sure that those who do pay the $35 receive the extendable VOA and not the free but non-extendable visa.

Please be sure to inform your arriving guests about the differences between the VOA and Visa-Free Entry, so that they don’t inadvertently end up with the incorrect visa, impacting their ability to extend their VOA!

In case of overstaying a visa, a penalty of Rp 300,000 per day will be incurred.

There is no cost for the Visa-Free Entry.

List of countries awarded visa-free privileges to enter Indonesia for 30 days:

Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Chad, Chili, China, Comoros, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Madagascar, Macedonia, Maldives, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenada, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, The Netherlands, The Philippines, The Vatican, Timor Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Visa on Arrival – VOA (Izin Kunjungan Saat Kedatangan)

The Visa on Arrival is for persons who are visiting Indonesia for a short period (30-60 days) as a tourist, for business, or to attend a conference or meeting. This visa is NOT for expatriates intending to work and live for an extended period of time. The VOA is a single entry visa; it terminates when you leave the country and you must get a new VOA on your next visit.

Remember that both the date of arrival and the date of departure will count as one day each in the 30 day stay limit. Overstaying your visa is a punishable offense and you WILL incur a fine for each day you overstay.

211 is the index for a visit visa (non-working purpose) that can be issued for various reasons including governmental, business, tourism and socio cultural, and allows you to stay for a maximum 60 days. Of these types, only the tourist VOA cannot be extended, the others can.

To emphasize, we will repeat – no employment of any kind, paid or unpaid, is allowed on a VOA or visit visa!

Once the visa is issued, you have 3 months (90 days) to use it to enter Indonesia. Once you arrive, it’s good for 30/60 days (see what’s stamped in your passport!). If you want to renew it, start the process at least 7-10 days before it expires.

On some Garuda Indonesia medium-long haul flights, there is an “Immigration Onboard” program through which an Indonesian immigration officer will process your Visa on Arrival before you leave the departure airport. At the time you arrive in Jakarta, you can skip the Visa on Arrival counter and head straight to Immigration counter. In these cases, the Visa on Arrival is payable in local currency at the departure airport (e.g. for flights departing from Sydney, you can pay with AUD instead of USD).

Pay-for-visa-on-arrival (VOA) is open for citizens from the above mentioned countries (under visa-free section) who wish to stay in Indonesia longer than 30 days.

The cost of the VOA is US$35/person for a 30-day visa (effective July 3, 2014 – PP No. 45/2014). A seven day short-stay visa for US$15 is available at certain entry points in the Riau Islands. The fee must be paid in cash in US dollars; no credit cards are accepted for visa fees on arrival at the airport. It is recommended that travelers have the exact US dollars cash as not all entry points have full bank facilities available. Any change due will be converted into Indonesian Rupiah before being paid to you.

Visitors applying for the Visa-On-Arrival will have to go to a special counter to have their passports stamped with the Visa On Arrival before going to the immigration clearance desk.

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. An onward or return trip ticket must be shown on arrival.

The VOA visa is extendable for one 30-day period (only). To extend the VOA, go to the nearest immigration office. Present your passport, ticket showing departure from Indonesia, fill in a few forms and submit with copies of relevant documents. Return the next day and pay Rp 250,000, get a photo taken, and pick up your passport. After this, it takes 3 days to process your extension application. Additional extensions are not possible, except in extraordinary circumstances such as natural disasters, accident or illness, and the tourist visa cannot be changed to a different kind of stay permit.

• Please note that the date of arrival in Indonesia is counted as day one of the permitted stay and the date of departure is also counted as a full day even if the flight leaves just after midnight.

Visitors are advised to carefully check the visa stamped in their passport to make sure that those who do pay the US$35 receive the extendable Visa on Arrival and not the free but non-extendable visa.

Visa-Free Entry and Visa On Arrival are available at airports, seaports and the land border crossings throughout Indonesia.

• Visitors from other countries not mentioned above must apply for a visa in their nearest Indonesian embassy or consulate before coming to Indonesia.

In case of overstaying a visa, a penalty of Rp 300,000 per day will be incurred.

Extension of paid Visa On Arrival (VOA)

Article 16 of PerMen No. 27/2014 states that one can submit an extension request as early as 14 days but not later than the last day before the Visa expires. One can extend the VOA for an additional 30 days at any “Kantor Imigrasi” (immigration office) in Indonesia. If you do it yourself, it will cost you Rp 355,000.

To extend your Visa on Arrival requires several visits to the immigration office (3 visits over 5+ days) to process the extension. The extension application requires:

• 2 forms (“Formulir untuk perpanjangan pertama visa kunjungan” and “Formulir Perubahan Data Orang Asing”) and a folder. Forms and folder are obtained at the immigration office and should be free. One of the two forms has both English and Bahasa Indonesia referenced on each line of requested information. The line information required on the second form does not have dual language information, however one can easily fill in the second form using the first form for reference.
• Copy of the sponsor’s KTP (identity) card
• Photocopies of your outbound air ticket
• Your passport, and photocopies of your front/signature page and original VOA visa page, and the pages of any subsequent extensions
• Black pen
• Rp 350,000 to cover the official cost of the extension. During the extension you will also pay an additional 5,000 Rupiah for the digital fingerprints and photo, the total cost is Rp 355,000.

Note: Only ONE extension is allowed for a VOA. If you want to stay longer (than the 2nd 30-day period), you will have to leave the country and then re-enter on a new VOA.

The process:

1st Visit – About 7-10 days before the original VOA expires, go to the Visa Kunjungan counter at the nearest Kantor Imigrasi with your sponsor and pick up 2 forms and a folder (Forms and folder should be free). If you have all needed documents and photocopies (see above) and your sponsor with you, it will save a trip as you can fill out the forms, and sign and submit them at the same time. Be prepared to wait if you want to accomplish all of this in the first visit. You will then receive a receipt and be advised when to return to the office.

Note: Depending on the immigration office policy, if you have all of the required documents and photocopies and your sponsor with you, you may be digitally photographed and fingerprinted and pay the 355,000 Rupiah during the first visit. If so you will then receive a receipt that you will bring with you when you return to pick up your passport on a day directed by the office, usually in 2 to 3 days.

2nd Visit – If you completed all of the VOA Extension requirements during your first visit, return to the immigration office on the designated day and present the receipt and pick up your passport with your new visa.

If you were not digitally photographed and fingerprinted and had not paid the 355,000 Rupiah fee on the first visit, this will be accomplished on the second visit. When you go back to present your receipt from visit 1 and pay the Rp 355,000 Rupiah fee and the immigration office will then take your digital photo and fingerprints (in one extension process only). You will then receive a receipt for your payment detailing what it was for. If you want to wait, you can return to the visa kunjungan counter and give them the copy of the slip and wait for the passport. Note: The local immigration office may advise you to pick up your passport with the new visa the next day.

3rd Visit – If necessary, the next day you go back to pick up your passport and new visa.*

The need for a local sponsor, and the multiple trips to the immigration office, is a reason why many people choose to use agents, but it isn’t necessary as one can take care of the process themselves.

*Note, several community members actually were able to complete the process above in 2 visits because they came with all documents in hand and their sponsor during the first visit.

Other Citizens

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 visit) 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 Rp 200,000 for every day they overstayed their 30-day visa (as per PP 38/2009). Airlines that experience technical difficulties or delayed flights can apply for their passengers to be exempted from paying any overstay penalties.

To avoid the long wait at airports to apply for a visa on arrival, and if you want to stay for 60 days, you must apply for a visit visa at the Indonesian consular office in your home country. The consular office at Indonesian embassies (outside of Indonesia) can issue a 60-day visit visa.

Note: A tourist VOA on arrival cannot be transformed in a Visit visa, or a semi-permanent stay visa, or any other form of visa.

A tip: “Beware of the 30-day counting trap! The way the immigration officials count the 30-day period is: you arrive on the 1st day with, for instance, get 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). This is actually their policy for how to count the days. After getting burned once and learning my lesson, I see their point and follow their definition of 30 days.”

If you want to stay in Indonesia LONGER than 60 days, you must leave the country and re-enter on a new VOA/visit 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.

Source : http://www.expat.or.id/info/docs.html#VisaFreeEntry