Bali Propose 3 to 4 Months Visas
18 May 2008The Bali Tourism Board (BTB) in a working meeting suggested that the government extend its visa to 3 - 4 months, and increase the number of countries enjoying a temporary visa as an attempt to lure more foreign guests and tourists to Indonesia as well as Bali.
The proposal is one of the results of the BTB Division II working meeting in Sanur, Bali. The meeting was attended by HPI (Indonesian Guide Association), Pawiba (Bali Tourism Transportation Association), Bali Board of Putri (Association of Indonesian Recreational Parks), and PHRI (Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association).

In the beginning the period of visas was only three days. These have been lengthened into seven days and until one month. However, the meeting of Division II has a notion of the importance of lengthening the period of visas until 3-4 months.
Tourists with a Visa on Arrival (VoA), especially those from Europe, were hoping to be able to enjoy their holiday in Bali for a couple of months, as their visa are limited the duration of their visit.
Indonesia has granted the VoA facility to 52 countries not only in Europe but Australia, Cambodia, Japan, Laos, India, PRC, and Taiwan as well. In the meantime, the 11 countries enjoying the temporary visa1 facilities are Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, Chile, the Philippines, Thailand, Morocco, Macao, and
Hong Kong. However, the visa extension and the increase of countries enjoying the facility would still need to be discussed further by a working group, also in anticipation of the abuse of a visa.