Adventure Birding 'n Outdoors in New Guinea's Wild West
Lower montane forests in the Arfak Mountains, situated in the northeastern sector of New Guinea's Bird's Head or Vogelkop Peninsula, are home to an entire suite of so-called Vogelkop endemics. Copyright © Like Wijaya
Updated June 15, 2022
Following a year and a half of complete restriction on international leisure travel in the Republic of Indonesia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of Indonesia has been gradually relaxing travel restrictions since October 2021, and the current state of affairs is summarized here below. Please be advised that in order to enter Indonesia your international passport must be valid for at least another six months on the day of arrival, and that an onward or return ticket is compulsory.
Special Visa Exemption for Tourism
Nationals of the following nine countries are eligible to enter and remain in Indonesia for 30 days under the visa waiver program known as Special Visa Exemption for Tourism or Bebas Visa Kunjungan Khusus Wisata (BVKKW) in Indonesian: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines (The), Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
If you are a national of one of the above nine countries, then you will be issued free of charge upon your arrival in Indonesia with a non-extendable and inconvertible 30-day stay permit in the form of an immigration stamp in your international passport.
In order to process your Special Visa Exemption for Tourism at the airport of your arrival, ignore the separately designated Visa on Arrival section (which as further outlined below serves an entirely different and payable entry facility involving the application of a Visa on Arrival sticker in one's international passport) and proceed directly to the main immigration clearance counters set up before the baggage claim area.
The Special Visa Exemption for Tourism currently is only available at limited international gateways, as
follows:
(1) the nine airports Kualanamu (Medan, Sumatra), Hang Nadim (Riau archipelago, off Sumatra), Soekarno-Hatta (Jakarta, Java),
Juanda (Surabaya, Java), Yogyakarta (Yogyakarta, Java), Ngurah Rai (Denpasar, Bali), Sultan Hasanuddin (Ujung Pandang, Sulawesi),
Sam Ratulangi (Manado, Sulawesi), Zainuddin Abdul Madjid (Lombok);
(2) the 11 seaports Dumai (Sumatra), Bandar Bentan Telani Lagoi, Bandar Seri Udana Lobam, Batam Centre, Citra Tri Tunas, Marina
Teluk Senimba, Nongsa Terminal Bahari, Sekupang, Sri Bintan Pura, and Tanjung Balaikarimun (all in Riau archipelago, off Sumatra)
and Benoa (Bali); and
(3) the four land border crossings Aruk, Entikong and Tunon Taka (all in Indonesian Borneo) and Mota'ain (Timor).
Special Visa on Arrival for Tourism
Nationals of the following 72 countries and territories are eligible to purchase upon their arrival in Indonesia a 30-day Visa on Arrival more specifically known as Special Visa on Arrival for Tourism or Visa Kunjungan Saat Kedatangan Khusus Wisata (VKSKKW) in Indonesian: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, HongKong SAR, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands (The), New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Turkiye, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, and Vietnam.
If you are a national of one of the above 72 countries, then you are eligible to purchase upon your arrival in Indonesia a 30-day Special Visa on Arrival for Tourism, which takes the form of a sticker to be applied in your international passport and currently costs IDR 500,000. Contrary to the free Special Visa Exemption for Tourism outlined above, the Special Visa on Arrival for Tourism can, in principle, be extended once for another 30 days at immigration offices throughout Indonesia.
In order to process your Special Visa on Arrival for Tourism at the airport of your arrival, first proceed to the separately designated Visa on Arrival section where there is an integrated banking service where you must pay the applicable IDR 500,000 visa fee by credit card (only Visa and MasterCard accepted) or in cash IDR, USD or EUR. Collect the receipt for your payment here and then proceed to the main immigration clearance counters set up before the baggage claim area, where there are dedicated counters reserved for the Special Visa on Arrival for Tourism. Present your payment receipt here together with all your relevant travel documents. After a short verification process of your various documents, the immigration officer on duty will apply the Visa on Arrival sticker in your international passport together with an immigration entry stamp.
The Special Visa on Arrival for Tourism currently is available at the same nine airports, 11 seaports and four land border crossings already outlined above under Special Visa Exemption for Tourism.
Applying for tourist visas prior to travel
Nationals of countries and territories not eligible to enter Indonesia under the Special Visa Exemption for Tourism or Special Visa on Arrival for Tourism facilities outlined above, must apply for an electronic tourist visa prior to travel to Indonesia through the intermediary of a registered, corporate travel or accommodation provider in Indonesia that acts as a sponsor and guarantor directly with the General Directorate of Immigration in Indonesia. We would be happy to assist with this as part of our tour organizing services.
