Indonesia has opened the Bali, Batam and Bintan borders under the quarantine-free trial programme and granted Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) for 23 countries as of March 7 for all inbound visitors travelling by air and sea.
Eligible travellers have to be fully vaccinated or have taken a booster 14 days before arrival, with the certificates verified by the country’s official Covid-19 digital contact tracing app, PeduliLindungi. Travellers are also required to have Covid-19 insurance with a minimum coverage of US$25,000.
Upon arrival, travellers have to show proof of a negative PCR test result obtained prior to departure to Bali, and a paid booking at any CHSE (Clean, Health, Safety, and Environment) certified hotels in Bali with a minimum stay of four days.
They must take another PCR test and wait for the result at their hotels. Should a positive result emerge, the traveller must self-isolate in the hotel or be admitted to a hospital if he/she is elderly or have comorbidity.
This process also applies for Batam and Bintan arrivals.
Visitors must take another test on day three, whether or not they intend to travel out of the island to other parts of Indonesia. Prior to this latest entry requirement, travellers were not allowed to travel beyond Bali.
The VoA facilities are granted to all ASEAN member countries as well as Australia, the US, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Qatar, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, Turkey and the UAE, with a tariff of 500,000 rupiah (US$36) per person, valid for 30 days, with an extension up to another 30 days.
The rest of the world can now apply directly online for the e-visa without having to go through a travel agency sponsor in Indonesia.
Sandiaga Uno, minister of tourism and creative economy said that as the government transitions into an endemic state, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy and other related agencies are also preparing for a new economic era – one that is “digital and health-based” and will ensure achievement of “quality human resources” and job creation across “tourism and creative village levels”.
