Indonesia: Visa on arrival for Indians

Indonesia is one of those countries in the world where the Indian passport can get a visa on arrival. In fact, the process was so simple that they hardly bothered with return air tickets, enough money to support, hotel address or any of the usual questions. All I did was go to the VOA counter where I was asked to pay USD 25 for the visa. Then I stood in the immigration line and when my turn came up, the immigration official saw my passport, smiled and said ‘Acha Acha’. I smiled too as I had just heard from my fellow passengers on the Air Asia flight about Hindi movies being popular in Indonesia.



The only question I was asked while I was waiting for my visa and stamping is the purpose of my visit. I said ‘tourism’ to which the immigration official jokingly enquired if I was sure. I said of course as I am on a long holiday. Thus my visa got stamped. Generally, all VOA into Indonesia are valid for one month only. However, if you wish to stay longer, you have to let the immigration official know that you will need to extend the visa. I did the same and I was told to get my extension done around the 18th at Jakarta, Yogyakarta or Bali. For this extension, I will have to pay USD 25 more at that time.

The process is really simple and for once I did not feel the pain of traveling on an Indian passport. I am already loving Indonesia.

P.S. I came to know all of the above at the Soekarno Hatta International airport in Jakarta about 60 minutes back.