By the end of the year, citizens from 10 to 20 additional countries could benefit from visa-free travel to Indonesia.
On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Dalian, a coastal city in northeastern China, Indonesian Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno confirmed to the media that the project to extend the visa exemption policy is still under government consideration.
Indonesia, which is particularly targeting Chinese tourists to boost its tourism sector, expects their spending to rebound this year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
However, to truly compete with its neighbors on the regional tourism scene, the archipelago needs to review its visa policies, according to Sandiaga Uno, and not just for Chinese citizens.
Indeed, while its neighbors Thailand and Singapore offer visa exemptions to a large number of nationalities, only citizens of the other nine ASEAN member countries are exempt from short-stay visas in Indonesia.
Last year, the Tourism Minister announced that a project to extend the visa exemption to an additional 20 countries was under discussion. At that time, Sandiaga Uno revealed that China, the United States, France, India, and the United Kingdom were among the pre-qualified countries.
Extension of Indonesia’s visa exemption policy finalized by October
Today, Sandiaga Uno confirms that this project is still on track and that Indonesia will finalize it “before the change of government in October”, reports Bloomberg.
The new Indonesian administration will be sworn in on October 1, with the president and vice-president taking office on October 20, 2024.
“We are approaching the final stages of this process. We are working on finalizing a visa exemption policy for Chinese tourists visiting Indonesia, aiming to complete it quickly, ideally before the end of the year. China is expected to provide about 1.2 million tourists to Indonesia this year, making it a crucial market. I have advocated for this initiative with my fellow ministers, and it is now under final deliberation by our president. I hope we will launch this initiative soon”, the minister explained to the Chinese daily Global Times.
“10 to 20 countries with quality visitors”
In early June, Sandiaga Uno said he hoped Indonesia’s visa-free policy would be implemented as quickly as possible to attract foreign tourists and facilitate travel to the archipelago.
The Minister said he was convinced that visa-free travel could boost Indonesian tourism. According to him, such an extended policy could bring $40 billion to the national tourism sector, making tourism a major economic source for Indonesia.
“The government needs to prioritize this measure, if we really make tourism the heart of our economy, then several visa-free policy changes need to be made”, explains Sandiaga Uno.
He added that even if the visa exemption were implemented later, there would still be control and supervision to ensure that only “quality” tourists have access to this visa waiver.
“One solution is to limit free visas to only a few countries that, based on data, provide tourists with a quality travel history during their holidays in Indonesia. We are initially proposing 10 to 20 countries with quality visitors”, detailed Sandiaga.
Most international tourists need a visa to travel to Indonesia
In June 2023, the archipelago suspended its very open visa-free policy.
So, except for visitors from ASEAN, a visa is currently required to travel to Indonesia.
Indonesian visas can be obtained on arrival in the country, or online before departure using the electronic visa system (e-Visa / e-VOA).
The “B1” electronic visa (e-VOA) is valid for 90 days and allows a 30-day stay in Indonesia. The e-VOA can be extended online once for an additional 30 days.
The “211A” tourist e-Visa is also valid for 90 days after approval to enter the country and allows its holder to stay 60 days in Indonesia. On the government portal evisa.imigrasi.go.id, the “211A” electronic visa can be extended up to twice for 60 days per extension.
