Indonesia: Govt Extends Visa on Arrival for Travelers from 42 Countries

• Mar 22, 2022

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The government has extended the visa on arrival (VoA) program to cover international travelers arriving at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, from 42 countries, Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno has said.

The facility was earlier extended to travelers from 23 countries.

According to Uno, the VoA program for foreign tourists will be effectively implemented while waiting for the issuance of a new circular letter.

“So, the direction from the President (Joko Widodo) is that the expansion of the VoA and no-quarantine policies must be realized. We are currently coordinating, and hopefully, on March 22 (2022), tomorrow, the circular will be issued,” Uno said at a weekly press briefing here on Monday.

Tourists from Australia, the United States, the Netherlands, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, England, Italy, Japan, Germany, Cambodia, Canada, China, and South Korea will now be allowed to enter Bali using VoA.

The list of countries includes Laos, Malaysia, France, Qatar, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.

The facility has also been extended to South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, India, Mexico, Myanmar, Norway, Poland, Seychelles, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Tunisia.

Despite the expansion of VoA from 23 to 42 countries, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy is still targeting international tourist arrivals of around 1.8 million to 3.6 million in 2022.

“We have not revised it (the target). We are still waiting for the relaxation (of restrictions) and (the development of) pandemic handling. I am quite optimistic that there’s a potential for exceeding the foreign tourist (arrivals) target that we set,” the minister remarked.

Earlier, Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan was said to have implemented the VoA program in other airports such as in Surabaya and Jakarta.

“Kemenparekraf strongly supports the facilitation and provision of VoA for Jakarta and Surabaya, which can make it easier for foreign tourists to visit Indonesia,” Uno affirmed.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1573452/govt-extends-visa-on-arrival-for-travelers-from-42-countries