Applications will be accepted online from January 2024
Indonesia starts offering 5-year multiple-entry visas to boost tourism
The launch of a new type of visa was announced by the country’s Ministry of Immigration, the purpose of the innovation is to modernize Indonesia’s immigration system, attract more tourists and businessmen.
The head of the immigration service noted that applications will be accepted online from January 2024 and foreigners will no longer need to visit Indonesian representative offices abroad. The cost of a new visa is 15 million Indonesian rupees (about $900 or 90 thousand rubles). You will be able to pay for the visa online on the website of the Immigration department at the time of application.
Indonesia, as the largest economy in Southeast Asia, is strategically positioning itself to become more attractive to travelers from all over the world.
This visa policy means a departure from the traditional 30-day single-entry tourist visa. According to the head of the immigration service, Silmi Karim, the extended period and multiple entries are an integral part of the government’s comprehensive efforts to stimulate economic growth.
The Indonesian authorities will introduce five-year multiple-entry visas for tourists and businessmen, the maximum period of one-time stay in the country on such visas will be 60 days.
Tourists, business people, and transit passengers will be able to get a D1 visa. It will allow you to visit Indonesia for five years for up to 60 days per trip. At the same time, there is no clarification yet on how often these two-month periods can be used.
The visa is not intended for foreigners permanently residing in Indonesia. It is designed for tourists, participants of congresses and other business meetings who come to meet with friends and relatives who do not spend more than 60 days in the country. Those who apply for a visa will be prohibited from doing business in Indonesia.
With a single-entry tourist visa, foreigners can stay in Indonesia for 30 days and, if necessary, extend it for another 30 days.
One of the main conditions for obtaining a multiple–entry visa is the presence of an invitation from the Indonesian side. In this case, visa agents will come to the aid of tourists, who will begin to advertise support for applying for type D1. You need to be careful: fraudulent schemes are possible.
Registration of a new 5-year visa is provided through the online service of the immigration department, which also receives a standard visa entry permit for up to 30 days. The applicant must have a passport with a validity period of at least 6 months and a recent color photo. The financial viability will be confirmed by a certificate of the presence of at least 2 thousand dollars or an equivalent amount in other currencies.
A standard tourist visa for a month can be purchased upon arrival at Bali or Jakarta airport, its cost is about 3 thousand rubles.
In early December, Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno said that Indonesia could introduce a visa-free regime for citizens of 20 countries, including Russia, in order to increase the tourist flow.
As of December 8, the country had already received almost 10 million foreign tourists, thereby exceeding the initial target of 8.5 million for the year. Despite this achievement, Indonesia lags behind neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam in terms of the total number of tourists.
For example, 26 million arrivals were registered in Malaysia, 24 million in Thailand, and 11.2 million in Vietnam. To fill this gap, Indonesia has set an ambitious goal of attracting 40 million foreign tourists by 2025.
In the competitive environment of global tourism, neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore are also actively reviewing their visa policies to attract visitors, especially from emerging markets such as China and India. By offering greater flexibility and simplifying entry requirements, these countries position themselves as desirable destinations for international travelers.
Indonesia’s new visa policy marks a bold step towards promoting economic growth through tourism. By extending the validity of visas and simplifying online application, the country is striving to position itself as a more accessible and attractive destination on the global tourist map.
