Visas for Bali long stay
Visas for Bali are fairly straightforward
All foreign visitors require a visa to enter Indonesia and regulations constantly change and are typically bureaucratic. There are different visas available depending on your length of stay and purpose of your visit. For the majority of leisure travellers visiting Bali a short stay visa on arrival is sufficient. Immigration checks and visa processing at Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport are notoriously slow so be prepared for lengthy queuing times.
Visa on arrival in Bali
Short stay single entry tourist visas can be issued on arrival in Bali for nationals of 52 countries including USA, UK, Europe, Japan, Korea and Australia. Your passport should be valid for at least six months and the fee is US$25 payable in cash. It is valid for a 30-day stay and can be extended once for a further 30 days. Officially you are requested to show an onward air ticket out of Indonesia but this is rarely enforced.
Single entry tourist visa
You can apply for this similar tourist visa in your home country or through an Indonesian embassy overseas which has the added benefit of giving you 60 days without the need for an extension.
It must be used within 90 days of issuance and prices vary from country to country. This is the only option for nationals of countries not on the list eligible for visa on arrival. The normal processing time is three working days.
Social cultural visa in Bali
This is the preferred choice for many expatriates with Indonesian spouses and those with business interests in Bali. The applicant is sponsored by a spouse or other Indonesian local for the duration of their stay which can be for up to six months. It can only be processed in Indonesian embassies overseas.
Many expatriates manage to live in Bali for years on this visa, flying out on visa runs every six months. It is forbidden to work on this type of visa but authorities tend to turn a blind eye to the many expatriates who have small businesses in Bali providing local taxes are paid.
VITAS
This visa is issued for foreign investors, family reunions and most commonly for retirement. It is quite a lengthy procedure to get an Indonesian retirement visa and the conditions are quite restrictive. Over 55s should have a yearly income of at least US$18,000 and full medical insurance. This visa can then be extended annually up to a maximum of five years.
KITAS
The KITAS work permit is issued to foreign nationals with confirmed employment with a foreign or Indonesian company. Most companies organise this on behalf of employees and the procedure is lengthy and can be very bureaucratic. Documents can go missing, small bribes are often requested to speed things up and various immigration officials interpret the whole procedure in very different ways. There is a pre-payable tax bill of US$1,200 on acceptance and it is valid for one year and fully extendable.
Visa runs in Bali
For long stay expatriates visa runs are a way of life and most choose to jet off to Singapore to renew visas. The Indonesian embassy in Singapore is by far the most efficient in the region and importantly is less fussy than Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok for example. Many pay a little more and use agents to arrange all the paperwork and process the visa the same day rather than wait the statutory three working days.
