The news that the provincial government of Bali is seriously contemplating on raising the Visa on Arrival fee for foreign tourists is unquestionably the one that will get potential travellers talking out of all the proposed changes in the law that have been put up in recent weeks.
Indonesia’s Visa on Arrival is one of the most accessible visas to obtain in the world. The visa is available to citizens of 92 nations and costs IDR 500,000 (USD 33), making it simpler than ever for travellers to visit the nation’s top tourist sites, like Bali. However, before the Covid-19 pandemic, most of Bali’s most frequent travellers could visit the island for free with a 30-day visa on arrival.
Bali’s government is working hard to maintain the island’s reputation as a top holiday destination in the wake of an apparent spike in tourists’ rowdy behaviour and the sharp rise in viral clips of foreign tourists breaking the law.
Bali tourism stakeholders are now offering various options to deter and remove any tourists who may infringe the law, intending to draw only “high-quality” travellers to the island.
Anggiat Napitupulu, the Director of the Bali Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, and Bali’s Governor Koster have all mentioned raising the visas on arrival fee as a potential solution.
Napitupulu informed local media that efforts are being made to foster a serious and official discussion with the appropriate policymakers over the potential expansion of Bali’s visa-on-arrival fee, and policy.
Although Bali is a province with authority to enact local laws and rules, the visa-on-arrival programme is a national immigration policy, so any changes to the programme would need to be approved by the central government and the Directorate General of Immigration, including the potential of increasing the visa on arrival fee.
The Head of the Bali Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, who has significant influence over the regional immigration system in the province of Bali, has endorsed the plan to raise the visa-on-arrival fee in Bali.
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