The Minister of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia, Yasonna Laoly, has temporarily halted the visa-free visits policy (BVK) for 159 countries.
These countries were previously included in the group of 169 countries eligible for visa-free visits, as outlined in Presidential Regulation Number 21 of 2016, along with 10 ASEAN nations.
The decision, stated in the Decree of the Minister of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia Number M.HH-GR.01.07 of 2023, aims to address concerns related to public order disruptions and the potential transmission of diseases from countries not certified as disease-free by the World Health Organization (WHO). As a result, the number of policy recipients has been reset.
According to Achmad Nur Saleh, the Sub-coordinator of Public Relations of the Directorate General of Immigration, currently, only 10 countries are exempted from the visa requirement: the ASEAN member countries, namely Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam. Visitors from these countries can stay in Indonesia for up to 30 days with a valid passport and a confirmed departure ticket.
To extend their stay in Indonesia, foreigners can choose other types of immigration permits such as e-VOA (Electronic Visa on Arrival), Visit Visa, or Limited Stay Visa.