Visas to Enter Indonesia

Unfortunately the days of obtaining a free 60 day visa on arrival in Indonesia are long gone. Most western travellers have to obtain a VOA or Visa on Arrival. The cost for this is US$10 for a stay up to 7 days and US$25 for a 30 day visa. The visa is obtained at most entry points in Indonesia such as Java and Bali.

Exact change in dollars is recommended, although a selection of other major currencies (including rupiah) are accepted, and any change will be given in rupiah. Credit cards are accepted in Bali, but don’t count on this elsewhere.

Wikipedia has an excellent summation of the visa situation in Indonesia:

There are three types of visas:

Visa-free. Show your passport, get stamped, that’s it. Applies only to a few select countries, mostly in ASEAN.

Visa on arrival. Pay on arrival, get a visa in your passport, get it stamped, that’s it. Most visitors fall in this category.

Visa in advance. You must obtain visa at an Indonesian embassy before arrival.

One peculiarity to note is that visa-free and visa-on-arrival visitors must enter Indonesia via specific ports of entry. Entry via other ports of entry will require a visa regardless of whether you are a visa-free or visa-on-arrival national or otherwise.

How to get visa on arrival: At the above airports/seaports, the following procedure should be followed to get your visa on arrival.

1. Before arriving, fill in the arrival/departure card. This card will be your visa application form.

2. When you arrive, go to the bank counter and pay the required amount for your visa. You will be issued a bar-coded receipt.

3. Take the receipt to the Visa on Arrival counter where your arrival/departure card, passport and receipt will be recorded by the officer. A visa sticker will be issued and stuck in your passport.

4. Proceed to the immigration counter for your passport to be stamped.

As always, there may be variations to this layout, especially at the smaller points of entry. Bank and visa counters may be placed together. Anyhow, your visa must be applied for before you reach the immigration counter.

Visa before arrival

Nationals of countries not listed above, and visitors wishing to stay for more than 30 days are required to apply for visas through the nearest Indonesian Embassy or consulate. Single-entry visas are valid for 60 days and fairly routine if pricy at US$50-100, but multiple-entry visas (quite convenient esp. for visiting East Timor) are generally difficult to obtain and very expensive at US$200. Visa applications will usually take at least one week to be processed.

Visa issued on approval

All visa applications for Business, Tourist and Social Visits from nationals of the following countries need an approval from Immigration Office in Indonesia before travelling : Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Cuba, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iraq, Israel, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Tonga.

Visa-free entry

Nationals of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines, Hong Kong, Macao, Chile, Morocco, Peru, and Vietnam are given visa-free entry facility for maximum of 30 days. They cannot extend their stay and cannot convert their visa-free status to any other visa status.

Visa-free entries are only permitted via the following ports of entry:

Airports: Adi Juanda (Surabaya, East Java), Adi Sumarno (Solo, Central Java), El Tari (Kupang, West Timor), Hang Nadim (Batam, Riau Islands), Hasanuddin (Makasar, South Sulawesi), Husein Sastranegara (Bandung, West Java), Ngurah Rai (Denpasar, Bali), Polonia (Medan, North Sumatra), Sam Ratulangi (Manado, North Sulawesi), Selaparang (Mataram, Lombok), Sepinggan (Balikpapan, East Kalimantan), Soekarno Hatta (Jakarta), Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II (Palembang, South Sumatera), Sultan Syarif Kasim II or Simpang Tiga (Pekanbaru, Riau), Supadio (Pontianak, West Kalimantan) and Minangkabau International Airport (Padang, West Sumatera).

Seaports: Bandar Seri Udana Lobam (Batam, Riau Islands), Belawan (Medan, North Sumatra), Bitung (Manado, North Sumatra), Lembar (Mataram, Lombok), Nongsa Terminal Bahari (Batam, Riau Islands), Sekupang (Batam, Riau Islands), Sri Bayintan (Tanjung Pinang, Bintan, Riau Islands), Tanjung Balai Karimun (Karimun, Riau Islands), Tanjung Perak (Surabaya, East Java), Tanjung Priok (Jakarta), Bandar Bintan Telani Lagoi (Bintan, Riau Islands), Batu Ampar (Batam, Riau Islands), Benoa (Bali), Dumai (Riau), Lhokseumawe (North Sumatra), Marina Teluk Senimba (Batam, Riau Islands), Padang Bai (Bali), Selat Kijang (Bintan, Riau Islands), Tanjung Mas (Semarang, Central Java), Tanjung Pinang (Bintan, Riau Islands) and Tenau (Kupang, West Timor).

Land crossing: Entikong (West Kalimantan-Sarawak border).

Visa on arrival

A visa-on-arrival is issued to nationals of Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Surinam, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and USA for a maximum of 30 days. A visa-on-arrival is not extendable and cannot be converted into any other type of visa. However, obtaining a visa from an Indonesian embassy or consulate before traveling is also possible and will allow you to skip some lines on entry.

Visa-on-arrival are only available at the following:

Airports: Juanda (Surabaya, East Java), Adisutjipto (Yogyakarta, Java), Adi Sumarmo (Solo, Central Java), El Tari (Kupang, West Timor), Halim Perdanakusuma (Jakarta), Hassanudin (Makasar, South Sulawesi), Ngurah Rai (Denpasar, Bali), Polonia (Medan, North Sumatra), Sam Ratulangi (Manado, North Sulawesi), Selaparang (Mataram, Lombok), Sepinggan (Balikpapan, East Kalimantan), Soekarno Hatta (Jakarta), Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II (Palembang, South Sumatera), Sultan Syarif Kasim II (Pekanbaru, Riau) and Minangkabau International Airport (Padang, West Sumatera).

Seaports: Bandar Bentan Telani Lagoi (Bintan, Riau Islands), Bandar Seri Udana Lobam (Bintan, Riau Islands), Batu Ampar (Batam, Riau Islands), Belawan (Medan, North Sumatra), Benoa (Bali), Bitung (Manado, North Sulawesi), Jayapura (Papua), Marina Teluk Senimba (Batam, Riau Islands), Maumere (Flores, East Nusa Tenggara), Nongsa (Batam, Riau Islands), Padang Bai (Bali), Pare-Pare (South Sulawesi), Sekupang (Batam, Riau Islands), Sibolga (North Sumatra), Soekarno Hatta (Makassar, South Sulawesi), Sri Bintan Pura (Tanjung Pinang, Bintan, Riau Islands), Tanjung Balai Karimun (Karimun, Riau Islands), Tanjung Mas (Semarang, Central Java), Tanjung Priok (Jakarta), Teluk Bayur (Padang, West Sumatra), Batam Centre (Batam, Riau Islands), Tenau (Kupang, West Timor) and Yos Sudarso (Dumai, Riau).

Customs in Indonesia is usually quite laid-back. You’re allowed to bring in one liter of alcohol, 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 100 gm of tobacco products, and a reasonable quantity of perfume. In addition to the obvious drugs and guns, importing pornography and fruit, plants, meat or fish is (technically) prohibited. Indonesia imposes death penalty on those caught bringing in drugs.

Indonesia Immigration maintains its own website, but the following is based on data from the Indonesian Embassy in London, which seems to be the most comprehensive.