Bali is one of my favorite places in the world, and I visit as often as I can. Indonesia has long required most visitors to get visas, though fortunately they’re largely issued on arrival.
I far prefer that to having to visit a consulate or mail in my passport. And in reality it’s just a way for them to generate revenue, since you would pay them $35, and they would put a sticker in your passport, so it hardly adds to security.
The visa on arrival requirement was never something which prevented me from traveling to Indonesia, though I always did feel a bit annoyed paying $35 on arrival, when I was just coming to the country to spend money anyway.
Anyway, the good news is that as of June 9, 2015, under certain circumstances 45 nationalities no longer need visas when visiting Indonesia. This change was first announced in March, though the implementation of it has been delayed until now.
Via Bali Discovery, previously the following 15 countries/territories didn’t require visas for visits of up to 30 days:
- Thailand
- Malaysia
- Singapore
- Brunei Darussalam
- Philippines
- Chile
- Morocco
- Peru
- Vietnam
- Ecuador
- Cambodia
- Laos
- Myanmar
- Hong Kong
- Macau
And now you can add the following 30 countries to the list which no longer require a visa for stays of up to 30 days:
- People’s Republic of China
- Russia
- South Korean
- Japan
- USA
- Canada
- New Zealand
- Mexico
- Great Britain
- Germany
- France
- The Netherlands
- Italy
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Belgium
- Sweden
- Austria
- Denmark
- Norway
- Finland
- Poland
- Hungary
- Czechoslovakia
- Qatar
- U.A.E.
- Kuwait
- Bahrain
- Oman
- South Africa
I double lucked out here, since now neither my US nor German passports require a visa anymore! Interestingly Australians — who are among the most frequent tourists to Bali — still need a visa to visit Indonesia.
Visa free entry can only be granted at the following airports/ports (including the major airports in Jakarta and Bali):
- Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta
- Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar, Bali
- Kualu Namu Airport in Medan, North Sumatra
- Juanda Airport in Surabaya, East Java
- Hang Nadim Airport in Batam
- Port of Sri Bintan in Bintan
- Port of Sekupang in Batam
- Port of Batam Center in Batam
- Port of Tanjung Uban in Riau
Bottom line
This is great news for those looking to visit Indonesia. While I don’t think the visa on arrival fee prevented most people from visiting, it’s certainly nice to not have to pay it, not to mention not having to queue to purchase it.
(Tip of the hat to LoyaltyLobby)
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