Bali (Indonesia in general) [NOT] to be Visa free for Australians from Jan 2015

[Aus ATC]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

We paid cash IDR435000 for our VOA in CGK back in October, instead of USD35. About right for the exchange rate at the time (4% margin). Receipt was for USD25 (old stock!) :shock:

 

[JohnK]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

They give you change in IDR, but at a poor rate of course.

Thanks. I have no need for IDR. I'll go and get USD35 from Brisbane exchange.

 

[Austman]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

It's the 15th January and as far as I know it's still a "Visa Free for Australians" fail.

But this Jakarta Post article is hopeful: Bali eyes 4m foreign tourists | The Jakarta Post

 

[JohnK]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

I went through Batam immigration on 15 January. Not free. Paid USD15 for visa on arrival up to a week. Not sure why I thought I needed USD35.

 

[vitagen]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

Bali makes you get the 30 day which is expensive.

How was batam? Did you stay in the HI?

 

[esseeeayeenn]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

Slightly OT but prompted by a previous post in this thread ... do J class PAX on VA get express path treatment at DPS airport?

 

[Austman]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

I went through Batam immigration on 15 January. Not free. Paid USD15 for visa on arrival up to a week. Not sure why I thought I needed USD35.

http://www.kbri-canberra.org.au/index.php/visa-service-kbri-canberra/visa/visa-on-arrival

"The fees for Visa On Arrival are:
· Visa for stay up to 7 (seven) days in several Special Economic Zones (SEZ)= US$ 15,-
· Visa for stay up to 30 (thirty) days = US$ 35,-
· Extension of stay for up to 30 (thirty) days = US$ 35,-

Guess where all the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) are? (hint - there's only one)

 

[Musongman]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

Maybe after the "executions", they might introduce the free VOA! :evil:

 

[markis10]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

http://www.kbri-canberra.org.au/index.php/visa-service-kbri-canberra/visa/visa-on-arrival

"The fees for Visa On Arrival are:
· Visa for stay up to 7 (seven) days in several Special Economic Zones (SEZ)= US$ 15,-
· Visa for stay up to 30 (thirty) days = US$ 35,-
· Extension of stay for up to 30 (thirty) days = US$ 35,-

Guess where all the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) are? (hint - there's only one)

There is more than one SEZ

 

[Austman]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

There is more than one SEZ

Only 1 with SEZ comprising 3 islands (as far as I can find).

 

[markis10]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

Only 1 with SEZ comprising 3 islands (as far as I can find).

Nope, try Morotai which was gazetted in April, and Palu on Sulawezi, there are a couple of others although official proclamation is pending AFAIK

 

[Austman]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

Nope, try Morotai which was gazetted in April, and Palu on Sulawezi, there are a couple of others although official proclamation is pending AFAIK

But are they international ports with VOA faciliies? AFAIK there is only one that is.

 

[markis10]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

But are they international ports with VOA faciliies? AFAIK there is only one that is.

Not much point having a SEZ without international ports

 

[Austman]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

Not much point having a SEZ without international ports

So they are international passenger ports then with VOA facilities? Good to know.

 

[Austman]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

So they are international passenger ports then with VOA facilities? Good to know.

FWIW I found this on Embassy of Indonesia | Washington D.C.

List of Airports across Indonesia that have VOA facilities :

1. Sultan Iskandar Muda (in Banda Aceh, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam)
2. Polonia (in Medan, North Sumatera)
3. Sultan Syarif Kasim II (in Pekanbaru, Riau)
4. Hang Nadim (in Batam, Riau Archipelago)
5. Minangkabau (in Padang, West Sumatera)
6. Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II (in Palembang, South Sumatera)
7. Soekarno-Hatta (in the Special Region of the Capital City of Jakarta)
8. Halim Perdana Kusuma (in the Special Region of the Capital City of Jakarta)
9. Husein Sastranegara (in Bandung, West Java)
10. Adi Sucipto (in Yogyakarta, Special Territory of Yogyakarta)
11. Ahmad Yani (in Semarang, Central Java)
12. Adi Sumarmo (in Surakarta (Solo), Central Java)
13. Ir. Juanda (in Surabaya, East Java)
14. Supadio (in Pontianak, West Kalimantan (Borneo))
15. Sepinggan (in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan (Borneo))
16. Sam Ratulangi (in Manado, North Sulawesi (Celebes))
17. Hasanuddin (in Makassar, South Sulawesi (Celebes))
18. Ngurah Rai (in Denpasar, Bali)
19. Lombok (in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara)
20. El Tari (in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara)

List of Seaports across Indonesia that have VOA facilities :

1. Sekupang (in Batam, Riau Archipelago)
2. Citra Tritunas (Harbor Bay) (in Batam, Riau Archipelago)
3. Nongsa (in Batam, Riau Archipelago)
4. Marina Teluk Senimba (in Batam, Riau Archipelago)
5. Batam Centre (in Batam, Riau Archipelago)
6. Bandar Bintan Telani Lagoi (in Tanjung Uban, Riau Archipelago)
7. Bandar Sri Udana Lobam (in Tanjung Uban, Riau Archipelago)
8. Sri Bintan Pura (in Tanjung Pinang, Riau Archipelago)
9. Tanjung Balai Karimun (in Tanjung Balai Karimun, Riau Archipelago)
10. Belawan (in Belawan, North Sumatera)
11. Sibolga (in Sibolga, North Sumatera)
12. Yos Sudarso (in Dumai, Riau)
13. Teluk Bayur (in Padang, West Sumatera)
14. Tanjung Priok (in the Special Region of the Capital City of Jakarta)
15. Tanjung Mas (in Semarang, Central Java)
16. Padang Bai (in Karangasem, Bali)
17. Benoa (in Badung, Bali)
18. Bitung (in Bitung, North Sulawesi)
19. Soekarno-Hatta (in Makassar, South Sulawesi)
20. Pare-Pare (in Pare-Pare, South Sulawesi)
21. Maumere (in Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara)
22. Tenau (in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara)
23. Jayapura (in Jayapura, Papua)

Other Entry points that have VOA facilities :

1. Etikong (in Etikong, West Kalimantan (Borneo)

So it seems that there's currently only one SEZ area that has VOA and that's Batam (along with parts of neighboring Bintan and Karimun - one airport and 8 seaports).

The other SEZs mentioned don't seem to be in the VOA list:
Morotai Island, North Maluku, sea port is Daruba, airport is Pitu Airport - domestic
Palu, Sulawesi, sea port is Pantoloan, airport is Mutiara Airport - domestic

 

[BillytheFIsh]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

Slightly OT but prompted by a previous post in this thread ... do J class PAX on VA get express path treatment at DPS airport?

Hah! Good luck!

The only advantage you get in VA J is getting off the plane first. Even that is not such an advantage, because the VA flights I've arrived on don't use an airbridge, so all that means is you (should) get on the first bus to arrivals.

Having said that, we went through on 30 December on VA41 and did VOA, immigration and customs in < 30 mins.

 

[Musongman]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

WOW!! That's lightening speed compared to Suvarnabhumi in Thailand!!

 

[BillytheFIsh]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

I think it's the luck of the draw... others reports have it at 2 hours+ and the "express customs" for US$25 no longer exists.

We were first off the plane, pretty much jogged from the transfer bus to VOA and there was practically noone there. We just got lucky that we were the first arrival in a while I think.

 

[Cynicor]

Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from ...

I have not had the long wait since the new airport has been opened. Talking to the hotel manager, apparently a lot of the big names complained to the high-ups that there was too much corruption at the desks and not enough people working. The delays were not a good look and, surprisingly, something was done about it.

 

[JohnK]

Re: Bali (as well as Indonesia in general) to be Visa free for Australians from Jan

Bali makes you get the 30 day which is expensive.

How was batam? Did you stay in the HI?

Holiday Inn Batam. Middle of nowhere. Room I was given more like a suite. Arrived around 8:00pm and left around 10:30am. Didn't go anywhere.