Changes to
Indonesia’s Visa on Arrival Rule
In a dramatic change to the current immigration
rules, starting on January 26, 2010, foreign tourists
from countries eligible for "visa-on-arrival" will now
be given a 30 day visa that can be renewed for an
additional 30 days.
As part of the new changes the 7-day visa at US$10 has
been abolished, with the 30-day US$25 visa (renewable
for an additional 30 days) being the only visa that can
be issued to eligible tourists.
Not Without Problems
The move, championed by the government as a step to help
increase tourist visitors to Indonesia and encourage a
longer length of stay, is not without its critics.
• Suggesting the move was taken without
inter-departmental consultation, Firmansyah Hakim, the
Ministry of Culture and Tourism's Director General of
Tourism Destination Development was quoted by The
Jakarta Globe criticizing the new policy, saying: "I am
worried the regulation would affect foreign tourists who
make frequent short stays . . .We are going to ask the
immigration department to sit down with us and hopefully
we can come up with a solution," he said.
Firmansyah added: "We hope this policy will extend
tourists’ stays in Indonesia, giving them a chance to
visit more places in the country," he said. "The policy
will also simplify the supervision of overstaying
foreign tourists because there is only one visa option."
• Officials have depicted the new policy as a means to
combat corruption within Indonesia’s immigration
department. In 2009, immigration officials at the
Denpasar Airport immigration office were caught
embezzling Rp. 3 Billion (US$300,000) in visa fees
obtain through the misreporting of 7-day and 30-day
fees.
• Some tourism figures are unhappy that tourists are not
automatically given a 60 day visa on arrival, removing
the need for any renewal process and the still unclear
cost of extending the original visa.
• According to the Indonesia Digest, the new visa policy
has increased the cost for some of a short family outing
to Riau island for a day at the beach or a round of
golf. Moreover, the new policy was introduced with
little advance notice, disrupting existing holiday
bookings made with travel agents, golf course and hotels
in Batam and Bintan. The Governor of Riau promise has
written urgently to Coordinating Minister for the
economy demanding a review of the new policy.
It should be noted that ASEAN nationals are exempt for
the new visa policy and are granted a visa-free facility
for their Indonesian visits.
