Are you not quite sure what kind of Visa you need for your visit in Sumatra? Then you've come to the right place! In this article we give you an overview over the different visa options for tourists. Whether you plan to just stay in Indonesia for 2 weeks, 2 months or want to travel up to 6 months.
There are different types of visas that have specific requirements. All visitors must hold a passport valid for at least 6 months as well as a valid return ticket. The immigration officer at the port of entry may ask the passenger to produce any necessary documents (for example return ticket, hotel reservations or travel plan).
If you are lucky and a citizen of one of the following 170 countries marked in green then you can visit Indonesia for short stays of up to 30 days with a free visa.
However, if you are planning a longer stay in Indonesia (more than 30 days), obtaining a visa for the world's largest island kingdom isn't complicated but a bit of bureaucratic hassle.
In this article we will introduce you to three visa options for Indonesia
Visa Free Entry
Visa on Arrival
Visit Visa ( 60 day Tourist Visa)
plus find a free sponsor letter template under point 3
1. Visa Free Entry - 30 days stay in Indonesia
free of charge
max. 30 days stay
non-extendable
for passport holders of 170 countries
With the Visa Free Entry (Visa Exemption) you will be granted a 30-day stay in Indonesia which can NOT be extended. If you want to stay longer than 30 days in Indonesia, you should see further 2. Visa on Arrival which is subject to a fee or apply for a Visit Visa in advance in an Indonesian embassy , see point 3.
What you need for the Visa Free Entry
Passport, valid for at least 6 months
at least two free pages
Flight ticket out of Indonesia after 30 days
Already at the "Check-In" in the departing country you will most likely be asked for your return flight ticket or onward ticket. If you feel like one of many travelers not knowing where to go next, you could find it difficult to book a ticket to "nowhere".
Here is an option for you: The routes Jakarta to Singapore, Medan to Kuala Lumpur and Pontianak to Kuching are especially cheap. You can book one of these routes just in case you need to show a ticket. They are usually between 14-30€. See more tips on how to find a cheap onward ticket down in this article.
Note: Visa-Free Entry does not apply for the citizens of the following 29 countries and British nationals who are not British citizens:[5]
Afghanistan, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Colombia, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kosovo, Liberia, Micronesia, Montenegro, Niger, Nigeria, North Kora, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen
2. Visa on arrival (VoA) - 30-60 days stay in Indonesia
fee required: 35 USD
30 days stay
renewable for another 30 days
Extension takes 3 - 14 days, average cost 500.000 IDR (no agent) 750.000 IDR (with agent)
Getting the Visa on Arrival (short: VoA) is easy: You only have to go to an Indonesian airport and pay USD 35 to the nice man (or woman) behind the "VoA-Payment" counter. You can only pay cash, but in different currencies.
After this you receive a receipt which you hand to the officer at the immigration desk and as a reward you will get the desired visa sticker in your passport.
What you need for the Visa on Arrival:
35 Dollars ( Feb 2020)
Passport, valid for at least 6 months
at least two free pages in your passport
Flight out of Indonesia within 60 days
Visa on Arrival Extension
You want to stay longer after your first 30 days in this amazing various country? Tidak apa-apa, which is Indonesian for „No problem!“.
With the Visa on Arrival you can get an additional 30 days stay for an additional 500.000 Rupiah if you do it on your own or it will be about 750.00 Rupiah if you hire a visa agent.
An extension of the visa on your own will take about 1-2 weeks, depending on where you process it. In Medan it usually takes only 2-3 days. But if you do it in Bali, there are about three-five working days between each step.
You have to go to the „Imigrasi“ (which is the Immigration Office) three times:
Hand in your passport and fill out all required forms
For fingerprints and taking pictures
Pick up your passport with your renewed Visa
We recommend you to visit the office early in the morning as it can be busy later and in some Imigrasi they only take 100 applications each day. First come, first serve.
Sumatra Vibes Tipp: After the 60 days you can fly out to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi oder other places of your choice. Spend a night there and fly back into Indonesia and take the Visa Free Entry or again the Visa on Arrival. It is great if you start in central or eastern Indonesia (Lombok, Bali, Java) and plan to spend longer time in Sumatra.
3. Visit Visa - 60 to 180 days stay in Indonesia
If you already know in advance that you want to stay longer than one or two months in Indonesia, you can already take care of a visit visa from your home country or any other country with an Indonesian embassy or consulate.
With the Visit Visa you can stay 60 days without extension and up to 6 months if you do the monthly extensions in Indonesia. This visa doesn’t allow you to work in Indonesia and as well not to volunteer. Check out the Social Visa if you plan on volunteering in a project for a longer time. A great project we can recommend is Project Wings in Sumatra.
What you need for the Visit Visa
Original passport, valid for at least 6 months after the date of departure
At least 4 free pages in your passport (especially if you want to stay longer than 30 days, otherwise there may be problems with visa extensions)
One completely filled out visa application form (original, signed by the applicant), which you can download online from the Indonesian Embassy website
Two color biometric passport photos 3.5 x 4.5 cm
Copy of the outward and return ticket (return ticket date at least after 180 days)
Fee of currently 50 Euro (f.e. in Berlin, depends on the embassy where you apply)
Copy of passport (only the page with name, date of birth etc.)
Copy of your bank statement or proof of income
NOTE: If you apply in Penang, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore you already need a sponsor letter for the application. Please check http://www.imigrasi.go.id if the requirements are different for your country or if the rules have changed in the meantime.
Extension of the Visit Visa
You can extend your Visit Visa exactly 4 times for another 30 days. So you can stay in Indonesia up until 6 months! Whoo-hoo! Just keep in mind that you have to leave the country after at least 180 days. A further extension is not possible.
The extension requires a sponsor letter
For the extension of your Visit Visa you need a sponsor: this is a local who agrees to be liable for you. You can as well appoint an agent for a full-service visa extension including the sponsor letter. For 650.000 to 950.000 Rupiah the agencies will organize a complete visa extension for you. You only have to go to Imigrasi once to take the fingerprints and photos.
If you want to do the extension on your own you need a local who has to fill out a form for you, which you bring to the Imigrasi with a copy of the sponsor's identity card ( or he/she can send it to the Imigrasi). Make sure that you really know the sponsoring local as it is possible that in some cases they might ask you about the relationship to your sponsor.
The procedure is similar to the procedure for the extension of the Visa on Arrivals (VoA).
You have to go to the „Imigrasi“ (which is the Immigration Office) three times:
Hand in your passport and fill out all required forms
For fingerprints and taking pictures
Pick up your passport with your renewed Visa
Here is a free sponsor letter template for you: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O2gatowYlgan4IHODM_-_2LOaeDNQ9jr/view?usp=sharing Please make sure that you only copy the template and don't make any changes inside the document. You need to change the yellow parts of the document with the data of your sponsor and yours. Once again, please make a copy first before making any changes.
General instructions for any Visa Extension
The first basic rule for all visas for Indonesia: Always keep the expiry date in mind. Please note that the day of entry is counted as a full day. A day overstay is punished with 1.000.000 Rupiah per day.
The Visit Visa and VoA can be extended in any Imigrasi (KELAS II). If you want to extend your 60 day Visit Visa several times, you can also extend it in different Imigrasi. However, in some Imigration Offices they want a sponsor from the same region.
Have an eye on national holidays and plan ahead whether there is an embassy nearby on your itinerary. Especially during Ramadan the extension can take longer and at the end of it there is a long public holiday. We recommend to apply for the extensions 10 days ahead of the expiry date while ramadan.
Plan at least five to seven working days (plus holidays and bridge days) for the extension if you want to take care of it yourself.
The "expiry date" printed on each Visit Visa is the last possible date of entry and not the last possible date of exit! This means that 60 days will be counted from the date of entry, even if you arrive on the day of the expiry date.
The official cost of an extension is 500,000 Rupiah if you do it on your own.
The Immigration Offices "Kantor Imigrasi Kelas I" in Sumatra
BANDA ACEH Jl. Tengku M. Daud Beureuh No. 82 Banda Aceh Telp.(0651)-23784 imigrasibandaaceh.org
BANDAR LAMPUNG JL. HJ. HANIAH NO.3 CUT MUTIA RT/RW.021/01 KEL. GULAK GALIK, KEC. TELUK BETUNG UTARA, BANDAR LAMPUNG, LAMPUNG 35214 Telp.(0721)- 482828, 482607 kanimbdl@gmail.com
BANGKA BELITUNG JL. JEND. SUDIRMAN KM. 03, KEL. SELINDUNG BARU, KEC. PANGKALPINANG, KEP. BANGKA BELITUNG 33117 Telp.(0717)-424700; 421774 pangkalpinang.imigrasi.go.id
JAMBI JL. ARIEF RAHMAN HAKIM NO.63 RT/RW.28/07, KEL. SIMPANG IV SIPIN, KEC. TELANAIPURA, JAMBI 36124 Telp.(0741)-62033, 62214 www.kanimjambi.com
MEDAN JL. GATOT SUBROTO NO.268A MEDAN 20123 Telp.(061)8452112 medan.imigrasi.go.id
PADANG JL. KHATIB SULAIMAN NO.50 RT/RW. 003/007, KEL. LOLONG BELATI, KEC. PADANG UTARA, PADANG, SUMATERA BARAT, 25135 Telp.(0751)7055113 www.imigrasipadang.com
PALEMBANG JL. PANGERAN RATU NO.1 RT/RW.015/005 KEL. ULU, KEC. SEBERANG ULU I, PALEMBANG, SUMATERA SELATAN 30252 Telp.(0711)-518309 palembang.imigrasi.go.id
PEKANBARU JL. TERATAI NO. 87 RT/RW.02/02 KEL. PULAU KARAM, KEC. SUKAJADI, PEKANBARU, RIAU 28127 Telp.(0761)-21536 pekanbaru.imigrasi.go.id
PEMATANG SIANTAR Jl. Raya Medan Km. 11,5 Pematang Siantar, 21154 Telp.(0622)-7439110 http://www.pematangsiantar.imigrasi.go.id
PULAU WEH Jl. Teuku Umar No. 10 Sabang 23511 Telp.(0652)-21343 imigrasi_sabang@yahoo.co.id
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