Foreigners Can Now Apply for Electronic Visa on Arrival to Enter Indonesia

BALI, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia introduced the electronic Visa on Arrival (e-VOA) application namely molina.imigrasi.go.id provided for travelers of 46 nations who plan to enter the country, according to the official website.

The new immigration service is effective on Thursday, Nov. 10, just less than a week before Indonesia will host the G20 Summit on the resort island of Bali from Nov. 15-16.

The e-VOA launching ceremony was held in Courtyard Nusa Dua in Bali and attended by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej.

"The e-VoA policy, which is the innovation of the Directorate General of Immigration is very strategic. Implementation of the new policy is expected to make a concrete contribution to attract foreign tourists and the business community to Indonesia," said Widodo Ekatjahjana, acting director general of Immigration at the Law and Human Rights Ministry at the event.

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The facility and promptness of the immigration services could spur the enthusiasm of foreigners to visit Indonesia and bring a positive impact on the country's economy, the acting director said.

Earlier, the directorate general had implemented a trial run for the e-VoA application on Nov. 4-9. The first international traveler who used the service entered Indonesia through the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang near Jakarta on Nov. 4.

“The e-VOA trial run using payment gateway ran smoothly. Alhamdulillah [praise be to God], the e-VOA system can now facilitate foreign tourists and the business community,” he added.

With the new system, foreign visitors only need to apply for their visas via molina.imigrasi.go.id. They can proceed with an online payment using a credit or debit card with Visa, Mastercard, or JCB logo on the card.

After making the payment, their e-VoA applications will be verified by the officer. If the application is approved, the e-VoA document will be sent to the applicant’s account at the site.