This video is a little bit different than what I usually post on my YouTube channel, which is travel blogs. I came up with an idea of doing a series of videos explaining some of the most asked questions about living here in Bali. I hope you guys find it useful if so let me know in a comment section below.
*Sorry for not the best audio on the video. I’m trying to figure out what works best so be patient with me :)
In the first episode of Ewa’s Travel Tips, I’ll be explaining visa requirements for Bali. Even though visa requirements for Indonesia have become much less complicated over the years, there’s still a lot of confusion out there.
There’re couple different visas you can get depending on your nationality and the length of your stay but for the purpose of this video, I’ll focus on 30 day Extendable VOA as it seems the most popular and confusing at the same time.
If you’re traveling to Bali for less than 30 days and your country is on the list of 169 countries that don’t need a visa to enter Indonesia, you don’t have to worry about anything. But if you’re planning on staying in Bali for more than 30 days but up to 60 days, then this video is for you.
Couple things first:
- Your Passport must be valid 6 months from the day of arrival.
- Keep an empty page in your passport for a stamp or visa sticker!
- Day of arrival counts as day one, day of departure counts as full day
- Penalty fee for overstaying is about $25 per day
Ok, let’s get to it:
To be able to extend your visa you have to apply for a 30 day extendable VOA when you arrive at the airport in Bali. The VOA Payment Counter will be on the left-hand side, before the main line to the immigration counter. There you’ll take care of the payment of $35, and then head to the second immigration processing line for passport inspection and to obtain an entry stamp. Luckily for you paying for a visa on arrival allows you to use the same immigration line as the locals which is always much faster and it’s the line on the left-hand side.
The confusing part is that you might think this is all you have to do. Unfortunately, that’s only part of the process. The stamp you receive at the airport is not a visa extension, it’s a stamp that allows you to now extend your visa for another 30 days. To extend it, you have to apply for an extension at the Balinese immigration office, either in North Bali, Denpasar or Nusa Dua. Just remember to go to the closest office to where you’re staying or you’ll be turned away.
Now, the fun part…you can either do it yourself which will cost your 355K IDR (about $26) and will require 3 visits to the immigration office, first one to prepare and sign your paperwork, second one to do your fingerprints and a third one to pick up your passport. Give yourself at least 7-10 business days to take care of your visa extension. And also keep in mind they have some strict rules on clothing when visiting the immigration office. You have to wear pants, long skirts, or basically anything that doesn’t look like you just came from the club or the beach. Apparently, there was a poster of Kate Middleton as an example of appropriate clothing, and Rihanna as an example of inappropriate clothing, if that helps you. If you go with that option, you’ll need to do some research on what to bring to the immigration office and what copies of the documents you need to have with you.
The second option is to hire an agent, it will limit your visits to just one, which is your fingerprinting appointment. The agent will pick up your passport, take care of your paperwork and when everything is done, he’ll drop it off at your villa/homestay. The cost you about $50 a person and it takes about 10-15 days or 7-8 for a little bit more money if you’re running out of time. I would definitely recommend the second option, just be sure you find a trustworthy agent. You basically have to hand them your passport and you won’t see it for a couple of weeks until everything is completed.
I hope this clarifies things a little bit. If you have any more questions regarding the process, please leave in the comment section below. I’m not an expert but I’m sure I can answer some basic questions and if not I’ll let you know where you can find the information. Let me know if you guys find this useful. I have some ideas about future videos but if there’s a topic that you’re really interested in, let me know.
Thank you for watching!!!
Ewa