Jakarta, IO – The policy was issued by the Law and Human Rights Ministry (Kemenkumham) on June 7.
The program was actually no longer in effect since March 2020 as the world was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and international travel restrictions were imposed, said Anggiat Napitupulu, head of Kemenkumham office in Bali, per CNNIndonesia, Friday (16/6).
In March 2023, when the Covid-19 pandemic began to subside, foreigners were allowed to enter Indonesia with Visa on Arrival (VoA) and visa-free for 10 ASEAN member countries.
“Then, there is a circular letter and it continues as situations improve and more countries are given visa on arrival facility,” said Anggiat.
“Until April 2023, there are 92 countries eligible for VoA. Thus, this regulation confirms that visa-free facility no longer exist.”
Previously, 159 countries plus 10 ASEAN countries were eligible for visa-free visit according to Presidential Regulation 21/2016.
In other words, Anggiat emphasized that visa-free visit no longer applies to 159 countries. However, citizens from these countries can still visit Indonesia.
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“Especially for ASEAN it still applies because it is a shared commitment within the ASEAN community. The latest ministerial regulation just emphasizes that visa-free visit is no longer in effect, except for ASEAN. VoA is not affected, because it’s a different scheme,” explained Anggiat.
The countries affected include the United States, South Africa, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Albania, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Kuwait, Palestine and Russia. (un)