Indonesia is getting smarter about dealing with visitors from overseas. In the near future citizens from another 11 countries will be able to get a visa on arrival (VOA). Here’s more from the Jakarta Post.
Indonesia is ready to extend the visa on arrival facility to 11 more countries, although the final decision is yet to be made, a senior official at the Foreign Ministry said Friday. “We are ready to extend the facility to these 11 countries, but we had to postpone the final decision because there are some reciprocal problems with at least two countries,” the ministry’s director for
consular affairs Indra Kesuma Oesman told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The 11 countries likely to receive visa on arrival facilities are Algeria, the Czech Republic, Fiji, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Panama, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Tunisia. Indra declined to identify the two countries that were delaying the move and emphasized that no concrete
decision had been made on any of the 11 countries.
On Friday, Investor Daily Indonesia reported that the government had decided to grant the VOA to 11 countries. “It agreed on the 11 countries at the special coordinating meeting on political and justice matters on March 15, 2007, in Jakarta. But the ministerial decree has not yet been
issued,” director general of marketing at the Tourism and Culture Ministry Bhiwana Bachri told the Investor Daily on Wednesday in Jakarta.
Meanwhile, several foreign envoys welcomed reports of Indonesia’s decision to extend the visa on arrival facility, which is currently available to the citizens of 52 countries. Slovakian Ambassador to Indonesia Peter Holasek hailed the news. “If it’s true, it will certainly boost Indonesia’s tourism industry. We are very happy about this,”Ambassador Holasek told the Post on Friday.
The Panamanian Ambassador also welcomed Indonesia’s decision. “It’s positive news. But I
have yet to receive full details on this,” Ambassador Raul Antonio Eskildsen Arias said. Late last year, the Tourism and Culture Ministry recommended to the Justice and Human Rights Ministry that the visa on arrival be extended to 19 more countries.
The 19 countries were Algeria, Bahamas, Fiji, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Paraguay, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Syria, Turkey, Uruguay, Jordan, Venezuela and Tuvalu.
There has been no word on whether the eight countries not named on the new list will be granted the facility.
The main purpose of the extension is to boost tourist arrival numbers, which dropped by 2.61 percent to 4.87 million in 2006 from 5 million in 2005. The extension of the facility to 11 new countries is expected to raise tourist numbers to 6 million in 2007.
Under the system, tourists from selected countries do not have to apply out of the country for visas but can instead purchase them on arrival at Indonesia’s international airports and seaports. A seven day visa costs US$10, while a 30-day visa costs $25.
So how are these new visitors to Bali going to fare when they cash in their money for the mighty Rupiah? BootsnAll’s currency converter (the best in the world) gives us a clue.
1 Algerian Dinar = 129.178 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Czech Koruna = 440.173 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Fiji Dollar = 5,633.07 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Latvian Lats = 17,647.5 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Libyan Dinar = 7,430.42 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Lithuanian Litas = 3,555.72 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Panamanian Balboa = 9,372.84 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Romanian New Lei = 3,685.09 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Slovak Koruna = 368.095 Indonesian Rupiah
Slovenia (now uses Euro)
1 Tunisian Dinar = 7,106.48 Indonesian Rupiah
Looking at this list of big spenders, I reckon the Indo government shouldn’t plan on making a bundle from Romanian tourists or Panamanian shoppers anytime soon. They should give every EC citizen, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, S.Africa, Japan and Saudi 6 month free visas on arrival. Then you’d see some cash spent in Indonesia.
{ 11 comments }
When i planned to come to Bali in July this year the travel agent called the airline and they said as long as i did not spend 30 days there it is not required of a visa. Do you understand this is still true for USA residents coming over to see Bali???
I hope it is nothing more than a VOA deal if anything as the $25 or less cost is not bad even then but the trouble doing is a pain at the airport? I want to be there for only 3 weeks in July so i hope not a problem for me.
Any help with someone previously traveling there recently??
Thanks
hey nick, i love the last paragraph, could you imagine how much less of a hassle it would be and like you say not to mention the tourism and extra cash income for the country..cheers
I read the VOA may be extended to 3 months–if that’s for US$25 I could live with it. What Jakarta doesn’t seem to understand is that short term visitors (5 days or so, who do spend a lot of money given the time they spend there) from places like Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, etc. do the math, and a family of 3-5 people may decide that some other resort isle is a better deal rather than have to drop US$75-US$125 for visas before they even get out of the airport.
Chinese tourists are not big spenders.
They buy the package
Love the smorgasboard breakfasts and go to dinner and order a glass of water
Pelit sekali
I believe that US citizens pay either US$10.00 for a 7 day Visa on Arrival or US$25.00 for a 30 day Visa on Arrival - The 7 day visa is great for short term visitors - There is talk of a longer 120 day visa but unfortunately it is only talk at the moment.
Hi Nick, just on Visa’s, is there anymore info on the 4 month visa that was in the process of being done, i am planning to get a 6 month social visa towards the year’s end but if the 125 day visa is nearly cleared i would really hold of and not have all the social visa hassles, can you update with any information you may have, thanks heaps
Hey Edduh, what’s 1.3 billion X __US$visa on arrival fees? Someone’s making money! Oh, one more thing–they’ll order a bottle of Aqua, not a glass of water (1.3 bill X RP$XX per bottle)…
Ok 1.3 billion
Sure as hell not all of them can afford international travel.
Edduh, I bet several million of them could buy and sell you.
Ricky, your comment is very smart indeed ;-))
More of the same fuzzy math it seems
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