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strong>Jan 13, p8

I just would like to make tourists aware about an odd outcome of the removal of visa-on-arrival fees for 45 countries.

To be able to enjoy the free visa a visitor must only use the following airports for arrival and departure: Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam and Juanda International Airport in Surabaya.

This means when guests arrive in Jakarta and leave from Bali they do not have to pay for the visa-on-arrival as long as they come from one of the 45 visa-free countries. (By Björn Schimanski, Denpasar)

Your comments:

One of my friends, who is working in Australia, came into Jakarta as one of the listed free-visa passport holders. The immigration lady asked what he was doing in Indonesia and he replied honestly he had come to visit his family (his wife is Indonesian).

The officer looked pretty annoyed, claiming that he was not a tourist and should go and pay for the visa. Under what type of visa, she wasn'€™t clear. What was clear was that they were trying to milk it and give all kind of excuses to get some money.

Rendang

I'€™m Indonesian. My experience: The immigration officers in Singapore and Malaysia serve me better than Indonesian immigration. So all of the foreigners better learn something about the ways of our bureaucracy.

Siswa Rizali

If you'€™re planning to go to a country for a holiday, then upon knowing that the country'€™s bureaucracy is basically complicated, too much of a hassle, do you still want to go there?

Simba

How can one require an entry visa upon leaving the country? This is a legalized racket. We are now recommending all visitors to obtain and pay for a visa when arriving in Indonesia, regardless.

Take note: even the staff at the visa counters in Ngurah Rai airport are unaware or have no knowledge of the existing and applied regulations.

Indorover

It'€™s interesting to note that of the 45 countries that are given a '€œfree visa'€, Australia is not one of them! Yet this country pours millions of dollars into the economy of Indonesia. It seems a little one-sided to me. But then I am a Kiwi and it does not really matter too much to me!

Aking

One more thing, the visa free entry is for 30 days only! If you want to extend to 60 days you must buy a visa for US$35 and go through that Rp 750,000 (agent price) slow process of photo and fingerprinting for the extension.

If you are a regular guest, you have to do that again and again! Last time I waited two-and-a-half hours for the photo to be taken.

If you don'€™t have an agent they make you come three times in a week and you wait even longer. Visa on arrival is a two-minute process. Extension is a one-week process.

No fingerprinting, no photo for 30 days: extensions make you a criminal. I think they don'€™t even save this data!

Ogoh

If you were a temporary resident, just add a few zeros to those figures and, of course, you must go through this same procedure for each extension. You are correct in that you must go through an agent, whose charges are 10 times the '€œpublished'€ cost of a visa, or expect to wait an undetermined number of days until you just '€œgive up'€.

Then consider that the heads of these '€œagents'€ are usually retired immigration officials with '€œinside connections'€.  

So, it leaves you with one single choice. Take it or leave it!

Ozmostus

Would it not be easier to have a '€œvisa free stamp'€ honored at all ports and airports of entry and exit? We cannot continually expect private companies to be picking up the slack and costs of all the inept, half-baked plans that spew forth in endless torrents.

Rusty Nails