Visa on Arrival in Indonesia

Like the visa-free entry facility those who obtain a visa on arrival have the purpose to visit Indonesia for tourism, family visits, social purposes, arts & culture, government duties, to give speeches and visit seminars, join international exhibitions, attend business meetings in an office, or when in transit to another country. It cannot be used to take up employment in Indonesia. This would be an abuse of the visa on arrival (which is regarded a serious offense).

Likewise, be careful not to overstay this visa as you can expect a IDR 300,000 (approx. USD $23) per day penalty. If, for whatever reason, you overstayed your visa on arrival in Indonesia then we advise you to travel to the nearest immigration point as soon as possible and contact the immigration officer to explain your case (the longer you wait, the worse it gets). In case you overstayed because you are not able to travel (for example because you are being treated in hospital), you should have someone contact the immigration office to explain your situation (and try to collect written evidence regarding the communication with the immigration office).

The visa on arrival in Indonesia is (initially) valid for 30 days only and you will need to visit the nearest immigration office to extend it by another 30 days. Sometimes people forget that the day of arrival and the day of departure count as one full day. So if you arrive on 1 January then you will need to leave the country on (or before) 30 January. If you depart on 31 January it would mean you have to pay a one-day fine. The visa on arrival in Indonesia is a single entry visa, implying it terminates when you leave the country.

The procedures to obtain the visa on arrival are fairly simple, provided you have the three required items: (1) a passport that is valid for at least another six months, (2) a ticket that shows you are leaving Indonesia, and (3) USD $35. You must first go to the counter and pay the USD $35 for the visa on arrival (cash only) and to receive your passport entry stamp. After this you walk to another counter where you will receive the counterfoil visa (visa sticker). Lastly, you will have to go through the immigration checkpoint. Now you are free to enter Indonesia. Welcome!

A small piece of advice: check whether the immigration officer indeed gave a visa on arrival stamp in your passport (and not the free visa facility stamp). The two are similar and can confuse the immigration officer. However, it can be a costly mistake: not only do you lose USD $35 (the visa-free facility is free of charge) but, perhaps much worse, you have also lost the possibility to extend your visa for an additional 30 days (the visa-free facility is not extendable).

How to Extend Your Visa on Arrival in Indonesia?

Those who want to extent their visa on arrival are advised to start the process at least one week before expiration. Even better: at least 10 days before the deadline because Indonesia is known for its lengthy bureaucratic hurdles and if you did not bring the required paperwork (see below) then your visit to the immigration office was in vain. Meanwhile, the earliest time allowed to extend your visa on arrival is 14 days ahead of expiration (therefore it is not possible to immediately extend it when you have just arrived in Indonesia).

To extend the visa on arrival you will need to visit the nearest immigration office (in Indonesian: Kantor Imigrasi) two or three times. You need to bring (or obtain when visiting the immigration office for the first time) the following:

• Obtain (and fill in) two forms ("Formulir untuk perpanjangan pertama visa kunjungan" and "Formulir Perubahan Data Orang Asing") as well as a folder. These forms and folder are free of charge and should have an English version.
• Your passport (valid for at least another six months), including the original visa on arrival. Make sure you bring photocopies of the front/signature page and of the original visa on arrival page.
• A copy of your sponsor's identity card (an agency can act as your sponsor but this will require an additional fee).
• Photocopy of a ticket that shows you will leave Indonesia.
• IDR 350,000 (approx. USD $26) to cover the costs. A small additional fee may be required for the digital fingerprints and picture they take of you.

If you are a citizen of a nation that is not mentioned in the country list below then you cannot obtain the visa on arrival when arriving at the immigration post in Indonesia. Instead you will need to arrange the appropriate visa at the Indonesian embassy in your home country.

If you want to stay longer than 30 days in Indonesia (or the extended 60 days) you will need to exit the country and re-enter using the appropriate visa (or visa-free entry facility). No unoften, foreigners fly from Jakarta to Singapore in the morning and return to Jakarta in the evening, hence securing another 30 day-period in Indonesia. If you do this you are not breaking any laws but in case you frequently re-enter Indonesia within a short time-frame, then you can expect to get some questions at the immigration office when re-entering Indonesia because immigration officers can suspect that you are actually (secretly) working in Indonesia (which does constitute a law-breaking offense). So, only do this if your purpose in Indonesia is allowed by the visa.

Visa on Arrival (VOA):

Purpose

• Leisure, Tourism
• Family
• Social
• Art and Cultural
• Government visit
• Giving Lecture or attend Seminar
• Attend a meeting held by Head Office or Representative Office in Indonesia
• Continue journey to another country

Length of Stay

- 30 (thirty) days; can be extended once by another period of 30 days

Requirements

- A valid passport with minimum validity of 6 (six) more months
- Return ticket (or at least a ticket to a foreign country) that shows departure within 30 days from arrival
- Pay USD $35 (and additional costs when extending the VOA)

Country List

1. Algeria
2. Andorra
3. Argentina
4. Armenia
5. Australia
6. Austria
7. Bahrain
8. Belarus
9. Belgium
10. Brazil
11. Bulgaria
12. Canada
13. China
14. Croatia
15. Cyprus
16. Czech Republic
17. Denmark
18. Egypt
19. Estonia
20. Fiji
21. Finland
22. France
23. Germany
24. Greece
25. Hungary
26. Iceland
27. India
28. Ireland
29. Italy
30. Japan
31. Kuwait
32. Latvia
33. Libya
34. Liechtenstein
35. Lithuania
36. Luxembourg
37. Maldives
38. Malta
39. Mexico
40. Monaco
41. Netherlands
42. New Zealand
43. Norway
44. Oman
45. Panama
46. Papua New Guinea
47. Poland
48. Portugal
49. Qatar
50. Romania
51. Russia
52. Saudi Arabia
53. Seychelles
54. Slovakia
55. Slovenia
56. South Africa
57. South Korea
58. Spain
59. Suriname
60. Sweden
61. Switzerland
62. Taiwan
63. Timor Leste
64. Tunisia
65. Turkey
66. United Arab Emirates
67. United Kingdom
68. United States of America

Last update: 26 January 2017